Legend of Zelda: Twin Heroes
by ThunderClouds7
Summary: War is coming to Hyrule but both of the Heroes of Time are occupied; one has been captured and the other is trying to save her. What if war hits Hyrule and the Heroes aren't there to help?
1. Prologue

**Enia: Before I go any further with this fic, I'm going to rewrite the whole thing. Because it sucks a bit. Rewritten chapters with have a RW at the top.**

**RW**

Prologue

The last time Ganondorf attacked, the cycle changed. Not in a major way, but enough to be noticeable. A mother had twins. Two Heroes of Time were born, both graced with the power of the Triforce, split between them equally. But neither of them knew of their destiny until the day Zant of the Twili invaded the world of light. Ripped from their peaceful ranch life, they were thrown into a world of monsters and shadow, left to fend for themselves.

There they met Midna, one of the Twili, and the trio joined together for a common cause; to save Hyrule. They searched first for the Fused Shadow which they hoped would give them the power to defeat the evil that stalked the land. When that failed, they sought to restore the portal to the Twilight Realm by finding the shards of the Mirror of Twilight. In Midna's homeland, they finally defeated the usurper Zant and his far more sinister master, Ganondorf.

Task complete and world saved, Link and Flick retired to a cottage in Hyrule Field, and Midna left them to sort out the turmoil Zant left behind in the Twilight Realm.

And as with all stories, all was calm, but it was not to last…

Legend of Zelda

Twin Heroes


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Link and Flick lay side by side on the soft sand, each lost in their own thoughts. The wind blew softly across their faces, bringing with it the smell of salt and sand. Overhead the clouds swirled lazily and the sun shone brilliantly.

The two could almost be twins except that Flick's hair was black to Link's dark blonde and her eyes were green to his blue. And she didn't have an earring. The both wore the clothing of the Hero of Time.

Link heard a boat off in the distance but he didn't move, he didn't think that it would come close and he didn't think that it meant any harm. Boy was he wrong. Flick yawned and sat up; she rubbed her eyes and nudged Link. He opened one eye. "Come on, let's go," she said, "It's getting late." It was. The sun was still shining but it was slowly starting to go down over the horizon and it stained the rest of the sky a variety of oranges, reds, and yellows.

Link nodded and sat up. They got to their feet and started back the way they'd came, following the twin sets of footsteps in the sand. Neither noticed the wooden ship sailing in towards the coast. Their horses were not far from where they had been lying. Epona and Allo were contentedly munching at the grass of where the forest started. But they never got to the horses.

An arrow struck the ground next to Flick's foot. Link and Flick spun around to find the shooter; it was a man. He was rugged and dressed in a smorgasbord of colorful clothing. He pulled another arrow from his quiver. It didn't look good, they had both left all their weapons back at their cottage since they thought it would just be another peaceful outing to the sea.

Link dove towards the woods and Flick ducked behind a rock just as the next arrow whizzed over her head. Flick grabbed a medium sized rock that was lying next to her foot and lobbed it without looking at the place where she thought their attacker was. She heared a 'thunk' and a short cry of pain and she grinned to herself; that would teach him to shoot at them.

The barrage of arrows stopped and Flick peeked cautiously over the boulder. The man was on the ground; seemingly unconscious. She stood up. "Flick, look out!" she heard Link yell but that was it. Something hard hit the back of her head just as she was looking over at him. She crumpled to the ground; everything going black.

Link saw the man sneaking up behind Flick and yelled at her too look out, but he was too late. She looked at him curiously then the light went out in her eyes and she crumbled to the ground. He hoped she wasn't dead.

Now there were men coming at him from all sides and Link could do nothing as a burly pirate slung Flick over his shoulder and took off down the beach. Link was surronded. One man swung a spiked club at his head and Link ducked; he felft the wind rustle his hair. The club smashed into one of the pirate's comrades who had been standing to close. Link jabbed the man with the club in the gut as hard as he could and smashed both his fists over the man's head as he doubled over in pain. The club fell to the ground and Link picked it up just in time to block a sword swipe from another pirate. The blade lodged deep into the wood. The man to his left was raising a cutlass to try and finish Link off But Link kicked out with one leg and got the man right in the stomach. He came back and kicked the man whose sword was engaged with his club under the chin. That left only one person.

The last pirate standing was smarter than his fallen comrades and he circled Link warily. Link yanked the sword out of the club and began to follow. The pirate feinted right then circled back. He faked left and circled back again. Link did nothing. The third time, when the man feinted a stab, Link grabbed his arm and gur off his head. Blood sprayed as the severed head fell backwards and the body crumpled. Link wiped the blood from the sword on the man's shirt.

One of the men was stirring. Link grabbed his tunic and slammed him against the side of a tree. That brought him fully awake. "Where are you from?" Link growled.

The man stared at him silently, all but shaking with fright. "Tell me!" Link yelled and slammed the man against the tree trunk. "Where are you taking my friend?"

The man only shook his head, lips quivering.

"I will know," Link said, dropping his voice down a notch, "And you will tell me. Do you want to lose a limb?" Link wasn't actually sure if he would really cut off one of the man's limbs but he was hoping he could get by on a bluff.

The man shook his head again.

"Then tell me where you come from," Link leaned his head in so their foreheads were almost touching; his blue eyes blazed. He placed the sword against the pirate's nose and began to press.

Blood began to trickle from the wound and the guy yelled, "Alright! Alright, I'll tell you! Just don't hurt me, please!"

Link took the sword away.

"We come from across the ocean," the man started, "I have a map I can show you later, if you want. We were ordered to come here and take a Hylian captive so we could learn more about this place."

"Why take one captive?" Link asked.

"Because... because... because we're planning to declare war on you to expand our territory," he blruted out. Link stared at him. There were other countries beyond Hyrule?

"Show me that map," Link demanded.

"I will, just let me get at it."

"No tricks."

"No tricks," the pirate promised. Link released his hold on him and the man scurried to a bag lying discarded in the sand. He opened it and dumped its contents out. Scrolls of paper tumbled out along with a few jars, a compass, and a pencil. The pirate selected the larges scroll of paper and unrolled it before beckoning Link over to look. "We're here, right?" the guy asked, he was pointing to an island in the center of the map that was shaped like Hyrule.

Link nodded.

"We come from over here," the man told him. He pointed at a larger land mass tot he right of Hyrule. "We've already captured all these other countries and the last place left is Hyrule. You guys won't last very long against us." There was unmistakable pride in his voice.

"Maybe without knowing anything about your people," Link said slyly, "But if we were to have a source..." he trailed off.

The pirate's eyes widened, "No! I would sooner die!"

"Sorry, but that's not an option," Link told him, "You're coming with me."

"No!" The man scrambled to his feet and took off down the sand, following the footprints of the rest of his crew. LInk dove after him and caught his foot. The man kicked at him with his free leg but Link grabbed that one too and pulled the man towards him. When he was close enough Link rapped his head smartly with the pommel of the borrowed sword and the man fell unconscious. Link tied him up and secured him to Epona who looked back at him reproachingly.

"Sorry, girl," Link apologized. He rubbed her neck before going back to get the maps. He swung up onto Allo, who let him, and took off; Epona following behind him.

Link rode at the fastest pace he knew that the horses could keep up and the raced through the countryside. They shot into Kakariko Gorge and up towards the largest of the three Hyrule Fields. There they turned left towards Castle Town. At the bridge Link slowed and leapt off Allo. He pulled his prisoner from Epona's back and threw the man at the nearest guard. "Take him to Princess Zelda," Link instructed, "Tell her he comes from somewhere in the ocean and taht his country is planning to declare war on us. Also tell her that they have Flick and I'm going after them. And take care of Allo for me, would you?"

Before the guard could answer, Link was in Epona's saddle and heading towards their little cottage in another part of Hyrule Field.

**Me: Well, that's probably one of the longest chatpers I've writen, I feel pround off myself. Now if my stupid cold would just go away I'd be set...**

**R&R?**


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Link slammed the door of his cottage open and ran inside. He grabbed his bust bag, Master Sword, and Hylian Shield. He was back out of the house and back on Epona thirty seconds after he'd gone in. He went back to the beach the same way he had come and when he got there darkness was beginning to fall. There was someone waitingfor him, her back to him. Sheturned around, it was Zelda. The moon madeher sking glow pearly white. "Zelda," he said with surprise, "How'd you get here so quickly."

"I have my ways," she smiled slightly.

"What can I do for you? It won't take long, will it? I need to get going."

"I need to tell you something, Link," Zeld said, "It's about the quest you're about to undertake and the and the world it is in. You see, Hyrule has something special in it's air, the magic that is everywhere. We've lived with it for so long that we've come to need it and without it in the air we will die, slowly and painfully, those with the Triforce power especially. But there is a way around it. Long ago the Seven Sages and the Spirits of Light came together to create four potions that, when combined, can allow you to travel outside this world safely. You need to get those potions, Link."

Link stared at her in silence. She _had _to be kidding! "You're joking, right?"

She shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Link. But if you want to go after her..."

"Fine," he sighed, "Where can I find these potions?"

**Me: I beat Twilight Princess! Aren't you all so proud of me? The final battle was so epic! Sorry about the delay, I've been meaning to but this weekend was State for swimming and I was exhausted. Review please!**

"They reside in four different temples around Hyrule. One is in Faron Woods, one somewhere in Zora's domain, that or Snowpeak, we're not really sure which. Another is in the Gerudo Desert and the last is below Hyrule Castle. I can get you to the one under my castle and after that I think you can get Midna to help you."

Link stared out over the ocean towards where he thought Flick would Then he looked back at Zelda, "Alright. Let's go."

**Me: Okay, I feel kinda evil. Heh heh heh.**

Flick slowly came to consiousness in a dark, rocking cell. The sharp scent of sea water and rotted wood filtered through her massive headache; it felt like Yeto had taken an ice-pick to it. She didn't particuarly want to move but she was lying in a pool of frigid seawater. She pulled herself to one side but she still lay in the water. Finally she had to open her eyes; the dim light wasn't too hard on her eyes, thankfully. She saw that the entire cell was covered with water and more was sloshing through a broken porthole each time the boat rocked.

Flick struggled to her feet and stumbled against the wall as the boat lurched again. She started to shiver violently and had to sit down again. There was a staircase across from her and the door at the top of the stairs opened. Flick drew herself up and stood there, braced against the wall, legs shaking, as a burly silouette descended down the stairs. The pirate opened the door to Flick's cell and came towards her. She dodged his grab at her on instinct and flung herself at the door even as her legs gave out. She would crawl if she had too. She managed to somersault through the door before a hand came down on her collar and lifted her up into the air with ease. Flick struggled to get loose but he carried her up the stairs and to the deck where he dropped her. Her elbows slammed against the hard wood and she bit her lip to keep from crying out; it didn't help that the sunlight her her eyes.

When she opened her eyes there was a pair of boots before her face. She followed the legs upward to the face. It was a wind burned face with stubble and a thick scar across the forehead. **(A/N I know, isn't it so typical?) **The body it was on top of was tall, thin and muscled. The wind picked at his dark clothes and hair.

Flick pushed her hat off her forehead and back to the top of her head. "What do you want with me?" she asked, her cold. Her headache got worse.

The man pulled a small bottle out of the bag at his waist. He held it out to her. "Drink this."

"Why?" she asked automatically. Flick didn't like being told what to do.

"Do you want to die a slow and painful death that doesn't seem to be caused by anything?"

"Not particuarly."

"Then drink it."

Flick took it; she could tell, somehow, that he was telling the truth. Already she was feeling worse than she had when she woke up. Flick drank the contents of the bottle; it tasted like nothing. She quickly began to feel better and soon all that was left that hurt was her original headache. "Who are you? she asked, "And what do you want?"

"I'll ask the questions," the man said, "What is your name?"

"I'm not going to answer your questions if you don't tell me why."

The man kicked at her head, Flick rolled onto her back and flipped into a crouch. She stood up but was grabbed from behind. Her arm was wrenched up and her shoulder shrieked in pain. The man with the scar walked forward until he stood in front of her. "That is why you will answer my questions; because I will hurt you if you don't." The pirate holding her arm pulled it up a little higher to emphasize the point. Flick could feel tears beginning to well up. She was used to pain but not pain caused by something she wasn't fighting.

"IF you think that's gonna work," Flick managed to gasp out, "Then you're mistaken."

The man grinned, his teeth were strangely perfect. "We'll see about that." He nodded at someone behind her and her arm was released. She pulled herself away but she couldn't escape the ring of men. The man with the scar shoved her to the ground and pinned her arms. He placed his knee just below her diaphram and began to push. The pain was unbelievable. She wasn't able to breatyh and the pressure on her organs made them scream. "Now tell me what your name is."

Flick couldn't see the harm in telling him her name and if it would get him to let up on her stomach, well.. she'd do it. "Flick," she gasped. The pressure on her stomach and arms disappeared. She gasped ineffectivly for a few seconds before her diaphram started working again. Flick didn't want to sit up so she stayed where she was.

"You are a Hylian, are you not?" the man asked. He had stood up and Flick could no longer see him.

She nodded.

"Who is your ruler?"

Flick clammed up, she would not betray Princess Zelda to this man. A boot stomped down on her hand. She could feel the bones grinding against each other and a splinter of wood jabbed into her palm. FLick shrieked, she couldn't help it, she wasn't ready for it.

"Tell me!" the man yelled.

"No!" Flick screamed. The man began to press harder and he started to twist his boot back and forth. Flick gritted her teeth and willed herself not to tell. Suddenly the pressure disappeared. Flick pulled her hand back to craddle it against her chest. She noticed taht above her head the clouds swirled lazily and without a care; she hated them for it. The man's head appeared in her line of sigh. He had a dagger with him. He dangled the dagger over her right eye with two fingers.

"And why not?" he asked, his voice scared her, it was far too pleasant.

"Because I am loyal to my leader." Her hand was burning.

"Aww... how precious," the man mocked, "But you will tell me."

"You're mistaken," Flick said.

The man's face went cold and so did his voice, "How about this, we'll make a deal. You give me a name - and don't lie because I can tell - and I won't drop this dagger in your eye."

Flick really didn't want a dagger in her eye. She closed her eyes in an effort to hid from her shame. "Princess Zelda," she said, "Her name is Princess Zelda." She was ashamed of herself. She had given in to him and if she gave in once she'd give in again. She'd betrayed her country. She opened her eyes again; the dagger was gone. She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Take her back to her cell."

Hands hauled her to her feet and pulled her back to the wet cell below.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Link and Zelda stood in the graveyard of Hyrule and it was, once again, raining. Link had a very strong sense of deja vu from his earlier adventures trying to defeat Ganondorf. **(A/N I call him Ganondork. He he he.)** They stood next to the sacred tree again but this time they were on the other side from the stone tablet. Zelda closed her eyes and the side of the tree began to glow. Part of it disappeared and revealed a dark chute. "Good luck," she told Link.

Link took a deep breath, he was always nervous, no, _terrified_, before entering a new temple. "Thanks," he managed.

"I can get you out when you're done."

Link nodded, stepped into the chute and fell. He hit the bottum of the tube and started to slide. He couldn't see where he was going but he could feel the tube twisting and turning. He slowly picked up speed and by the time he saw the growing light at the end of the tunnel **(A/N That made it sound like he's dead. Don't worry Nonexistent Reader, he's not.)** it was too late to stop. He shot out of the tunnel and skidded painfully across the stone floor on his back. Something grabbed his leg and began to pull. On instinct Link yanked his sword from its sheath and swung it at whatever was holding his foot; the pressure on it disappeared.

Link somersaulted over backwards and jumped to his feet. He looked around; he was right in the middle of a deku baba nest. Link pulled his shield onto his arm just in time to blcok a lunge from a deku baba; the force drove him backwards. Link went on the offensive. He ducked under another attack and drove his sword through the thing's head before it could pull back. He was on to the next creature before the first hit the ground. He slashed the head off another deku baba while simultaneously blocking a strike from a third. That left five and the slumbering mother. Link pulled the Gale Boomerang from his bag and flung it at the nearest deku baba. It clipped the thing's neck and it flopped over, stunned. Link caught the boomerang on the run and plunged his sword through the tihng's head. He sheathed his sword and walked up to the next deku baba. He dodged to the right as it lunged and pulled his sword out as he spun, preforming the mortal draw. He delt with the next two in quick succesion and when he was decapitating the last one his sword clanged against the wall.

Just after he finished it off something slammed into his back and bashed him into the wall. "Agh!" he yelled in surprise. The force disappeared and he fell to the ground, ready for action. He turned around; the deku baba mother had woken up. She lunged at him again and tried to crush him. Link folled forward and severed the neck in one clean sweep.

The rest of the room was empty and across from him was a door with the Triforce symbol on it. Link started towards it as he sheathed his weapons. He shoved the door upwards and went in.

It was storming. Giant waves smacked the boat and threatened to capsize it and water poured in through the broken window in Flick's cell. Her stomach and shoulder ached fiercelly and her head still hurt.

She sat on the floor, holding her head, and suddenly she was thrown across the floor as the ship slammed into something. She rolled and stood up. Flick looked around to see if she could figure out what had happened; a grin split across her face. There was a giant hole in the back of her cell. She made her way across the pitcihng and rolling floor and poked her head out. Rain lashed across her face and instantly soaked her head and shoulders. She squinted and glanced around, trying to find what they had hit. A small ways behind them a large jagged rock jutted out of the seas.

Flick heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. The pirate froze on the last step and stared at her. Flick dove through the gap in the hull as the man gave a shout of surprise.

She hit the frigid water and kicked towards the surface as fast as she could. Her head broke the water and was immediatly swamped by a giant wave. She came back up, coughing violently, and swam for the rock. She heard shouts of anger from above her but she kept going. She pulled herself up onto the rock.

"Somebody go and get her!" the leader yelled.

"How?" one pirate asked stupidly.

"Jump in and go get her!"

Flick watched the scene from the rock; nobody moved. The leader huffed and pulled off his belt and tunic. He dove off the boat and came towards her. "Crap," Flick muttered. She clambered around to the far side of the rock and looked around for someplace to flee too. There was nothing except for the crashing waves.

The man made it to the rock and pulled himself up; Flick could hear him breathing heavily. He came around the boulder and grabbed at her. She danced out of the way. He lunged again and she stumbled back, her foot catching of a rock and spilling her onto her back. The man jumped on her and flipped her over, tying her hands behind her back. He hauled her to her feet and signaled for the other pirates back on the ship to throw them a rope. He kept a tight hold on her as they were pulled up.

On the deck he set Flick on her feet, slapped her across the face, then threw her across the boat. She struck the deck and rolled painfully head over heels. She stood up and the man was stalking towards her. Flick ran towards the bow of the boat. "Grab her," the man commanded. Two pirates broke of from the group; they came at her and she ducked a grab from the one of them and slammed her knee into his groin. He doubled over in pain and she rammed her elbow into the small of his back before flipping him off the boat. He hit the water with a splash. She punched the second pirate and broke his nose with her knee. She pushed him overboard as well. The man with the scar growled angrily but she turned away to jump off the boat. Before she could, though, somehitng slammed into her shoulder. She yelled in pain as blood began to soak her tunic. A hand grabbed her from behind and pushed her back to the ground. Scar Man stood over her and glared. "Am I going to have to hobble you?" he asked coldly.

"What?" she couldn't comprehend was he was saying, the thing in her back had snapped off and gone deeper into her shoulder. She thought it was an arrow.

"Break your leg," he answered. "Do I have to break your leg?"

"No," she said automatically.

"I think I do," and he brought his boot down on her right leg. She screamed as it snapped and then darkness washed over her.

Zelda stared at the man Link had brought in. She had been trying to get him to talk for the past three hours. She had tried asking, threatening, pleading, _promising_, but nothing had worked. The man remained as silent as a stone. She didn't want to have to _actually_ hurt him, but soon she might have to choice.

She tried again. "Just tell me, okay? It won't matter in the end; we'll stop your people before they even have a chance."

"No you won't," he contradicted. "We have weapons that you can't even begin to understand! We'll crush you!"

"What kind of weapons?" Zelda asked slyly.

"We've got high powered canons and armored transportation that's inanimate. We have drills and all sorts of visious beasts that you won't stand even the smallest chance against!"

"Can you contradict our magic?"

"What?" he asked, his face screwed up with confusion.

"Our magic. Do you have anything to counter that?"

"The pirate was silent. "Well... no. But you're magic won't end up mattering. We'll overpower you thorugh our fire power and sheer numbers!"

"But how do you know that you're numbers our greater than ours?" Zelda asked. "Do you even know how many fighters we have?" Even she didn't know the exact number when you brought together the Zoras, Gorons, Hylians, others that were scattered across the land., not to mention the Twili.

"I'm sure we've got at least twice your number," the man said confidently.

"You're sure? You don't sound like you know our exact number."

"Well, I don't. But judging by the size of your country, you can't have _too_ many."

"Give me an approximation," Zelda hedged, amazed at how much information he was giving her without even realizing it.

"My leader thinks you've got about-" he stopped suddenly and glared at her. "Oh you're good, but you aren't getting any more information out of me!" He shut his mouth resolutely and refused to say anything else.

Zelda sighed and wished that Link was here with her. He would get his man to talk, she knew it. Zelda left the room without another word. She went up to the throne room and immediately shivered. Whenever she entered that particular room dark memories invaded her mind. Her military leader was waiting for her by the door and he fell in step behind her. "Well?" he asked.

Zelda made a face. "His information was vague. He says they have armored vehickels and high powered canons and large numbers. His leader leader thinks we don't have many fighters and apparently he has twice our number. How many _do_ we have?"

"More than he thinks," Myron answered.

"If only we had that potion," Zelda sighed. "Then we could send a scout out into their world."

"We'll just have to wait for Link."

"Yes, but his main objective will be finding Flick, not gathering information for us."

"We'll figure something out, Princess," Myron reassured her.

"Yes, I'm sure we will."

**Me: End of chapter three! Sorry that one took so long, sometimes you just gotta wait for inspiration to hit ya. Alright, I need your opinons of something, Nonexistent Readers. I got this idea of a Wind Waker fanfic where I add a couple of islands, use a different bad guy and use young adult Link. Tetra may or may not be in it, haven't decided yet. Would anyone be interested? Please tell me!**

**Me: Another thing, what should I name Scare Face? I'm really tired of calling him 'the leader' or 'the man' or 'the pirate'. If you have any ideas, please let me know.**

**Samik: I think you should call him George.**

**Me: Shut up, Samik.**

**Samik: What? Why? I think that's a legitamite suggestion.**

**Me: Take you're "legitamite" suggestion and go elsewhere. And I don't even thing you spelled it right.**

**Samik: You don't know how to spell it either.**

**Me: Shh.**

**R&R? Oh, and vote now. Toon Link or Young Adult Link?**


	5. Chapter Four

**Me: Hello! Well, I still have no ideas for Scar Face's name. Oh well. Question, when Zant took off his helmat did any of you laugh hysterically? I know I did. The helmat was so creepy looking then when he took it off he looked like some kind of deranged alien. It was funny. And speaking of funny looking villans, in Wind Waker Ganondorf looked ridiculous, he was truely was Ganondork.**

Chapter Four

Link entered the first corridor of the dungeon. Torches flickered to life as he came in, illuminating the dusty stone. Water dripped from several unseen spots and the sound echoed around and around. Link started forward, on guard. Several bats screeched through the air; he ducked and dispatched them as quickly as he could. He continued on his way and after a few minutes he came across a dark blue chest. He grinned and pushed it open. Inside was the dungeon map, score! He glanced over the layout. There were two floors and one main cavern that all the other hallways branched off of. The second floor was just a long hallway that led back around to a different room on the first floor.

Link continued along the hallway and was stopped again just before a locked door. Link looked around, searching for a chest that could hold the key. Something leathery and cold hit his head and slid down his back. Link yelled and spun around, grabbing his sword as he did so. It was a snake. It was at least five feet long and thicker than his arm. It looked up at him and hissed. There was a thunk behind him as something else hit the floor. Link twirled; it was another snake. And then more were raining down all around him. The original snake lunged at Link and Link slashed off its head. He kept cutting as the floor filled with snakes. There were just too many, then something caught his eye. A decapitated snake was slowly growing its head back. Link turned and ran back the way he had come, stepping on snakes as he went. When he was far enough away he turned around and pulled out his bow. He strung it and knocked an arrow, firing it at the nearest snake. The arrow skewered the animal and it lay still. Link looked at the mass of snakes; he didn't have enough arrows for them all.

Link kept backing up until he tripped over something. It was a barrel full of lantern oil. Link grinned, an idea coming to him. He dumped the oil out across the corridor, ran back, dipped an arrow in the remaining oil, ran it through a torch, and fired it. The arrow landed in the oil and began to spread. The flames flickered upwards and the snakes ran straight into their open arms. Link could hear the crackling flesh and dying screams. If Flick were there one of them would make some kind of joke as they smiled shakily at each other. Flick's absense truley stabbed through him for the first time.

The crackling tapered off and finally died out and the flames disappeared as well. Back down the corridor Link saw the familiar light of a chest materializing; Link ran towards it. He opened it and puloled out the small silver key. He stuck it in the lock and shoved the door open.

The next room was the main room. THere was a large staircase leading up to a platform with two unlit lanterns. Above his head were multiple platforms with doors. Link started to circle the floor. He found a small wooden chest with twenty rupees and a second chest with the Dungeon Compass in it.

Link found one door on his level. Through the door there were two other doors and Link chose the door to the left. It led to a small room with a chest that held a purple rupee. The other door led to a long hallway.

Link followed it down to a small space with another deku baba nest. A wall slammed up behind him, locking him in the room. THe nest was bigger than the first with around twenty smaller deku babas and two mothers. The mothers were both awake this time.

One of the mothers tried to crush him as he started to move around the room. The giant smashed one of its own babies. Link killed a second, slicing it right in two. He slashed at a mother's neck as she crashed down behind him again and killed a third small deku baba as she withdrew. Both of the mothers roarede at him and tried to smash him at the same time. Their giant heads collided and when they pulled back they swayed woozily in the air. Link used the time to decapicate three more deku babas.

The larger of the two mothers recovered and grabbed him by the waist and lifted him into the air. It shook him around roughly and flung him at a wall. He struck it and fell to the ground. Link groaned as he lifted his head. The deku baba mother was coming back to finish him. Link rolled to one side and the head barely missed him. He reached for his sword but his hand just hit air. _Where'd it go?_ he wondered. He looked around as he ran away from the deku babas. And there it was; in the small gap between the two mothers.

Link ran for it and dove as they lunged for him. He rolled and grabbed the handle as he went by. He kept rolling uncontrollably and his sword happened to sever the neck of one of the small deku babas. Link crashed into the wall, again, and managed to stand up.

He pulled his boomerang out and flung it around the room. It sailed exactly the way he wanted it too, throwing dust around as it went. Link ran after it, slicing the heads of the stunned deku babas as he went. He got them all and then he only had to deal with the two mothers. Link caught the boomerang and put it away. He stood there, panting, for a couple of minutes as they watched him.

The smaller one made the first move. Link dodged and severed its head at the neck as he ran up the now prone vine. He got to the top and jumped off, launching himself at the last deku baba. He grabbed its vine and swung around. He pulled his sword in and cut through the vine. Link fell and landed on the groound. The door he'd come through opened along with a door leading into the unknown.

After a few minutes Link stood up and moved to the door. He walked to the next room. There was a door but it was locked to Link continued down the hallway. He opened the door and went in. He almost walked straight off a ledge but caught himself at the last moment. He looked down; there was a dark lake of water below him.

Link sighed as he pulled the Zora Armor over his green tunic. He dove in.

The water was frigid on his exposed skin. Link kicked for the bottum, the water getting darker and darker. At the bottum he looked around; he could barely see five feet in any direction. He made his way to a dark shape in the center of the lake. It was a chest. Link grabbed its contents and swam back to the surface. He pulled himself onto the ledge and shucked off the Zora Armor. He shivered even though his clothes were dry.

He went back to the locked door and used the key he'd gotten to get in. He came out into a dark room. Torches flickered around the edges, casting deep shadows off the wall; the middle of the room was completely dark. Link walked slowily to the middle of the room; he looked from side to side as he went, searching for any sign of danger.

Without warning the ground beneath his feet began to drop; the entire floor was falling. And then it disappeared entirely from beneath him and he was free falling.

Link landed and rolled. Something lunged at his face; Link stumbled away from the sharp fangs. There was a giant emerald snake in front of him. It was at least three times longer than he was tall and twice as wide as his waist. It lunged at him again and he slashed at its neck. It withdrew and shot a stream of venom at him. Link dodged and ran at the wall. He ran up it and jumped off as the snake smashed into it and got one him his fanges locked in the rock. Link flipped and fell, sword pointed downwards, at a terrifying speed and slammed into the snake's neck. It went still and then limp.

Link pulled his sword out and slid down the snake's slippery neck. Its body dissolved quicky, leaving a blue chest in its place.

Link opened it and squinted agianst the bright yellow-green light. He pulled out something that felt smooth and coiled. It was a whip with a small fanged head at the far end. Link cracked it once and the sound echoed around the cavern. Now, how to get out...?

Poking out of the wall above his head were wooden beams with smooth centers. **(A/N That makes it sound like a chocolate. Mmm... chocolate...)** Link cracked the whip at the post. It caught, yanking him off his feet. At the top of his arc he flicked his wrist and the whip uncurled and latched onto the next post.

Around and around he went, circling around the deep pit. He reached the topmost post and stopped, climbing up the whip to get out. He went back through the door he had come in and back to the main chamber. He searched the ceiling; it looked like he could get to another door if he stood on the raised platform in the center of the room.

As he flipped through the air he thought that the feeling of using the whip was amazing, second only to using the clawshot.

Link went through the door; it led to a long hallway that curved out of sight. Link shivered; there was a cold draft blowing past him.

He ran quickly down the hallway, the floor sloping upwards as he went. A deku baba burst out of a clump of weeds and slammed him against the wall. Link picked its head from the ground as it tried to grab his boot and killed it. He kept going, jumping across three crumbling pieces of floor. But on the last he skidded to a stop, his boot sending pebbles into the abyss below him. The tunnel in front of him was blocked by a thick metal wall.

Link turned around and spotted the lever hanging from the ceiling. He cracked the whip at it and pulled. THe gate opened and he jumped rest of the corridor led to a door. The next room was filled with bats and rats. The bats flew at him eagerly. He ducked and spun around; the bats screeched as his sword cut through them.

A rat leat at his leg; he kicked at it and knocked it into the wall. It didn't move. A bat flapped around his head and another charged his sheild. Link grabbed the bat near his head before it could gouge his eye out and threw it away. Then his sword cut it in half. He killed another rat as it leapt through the air at him and stomped on the last bat. A chest with a key appeared.

Link unlocked the door and went through, likked a deku baba and went into a room that held a purple rupee.

He ran down a dark hallway, his lantern held out before him. He came to another crumbling section of floor and jumped across, then clambered across some vines to the far side. The corridor led back tot he main hallway and from there he could flip up and over to another door by a series of whip posts. The door led to another key.

Link went through the final door that was directly across from him. A series of whip posts spaned the long dark hallway without a floor. He went across four posts before dropping onto a single section of stone. He got onto another pole but the next one was too far away for his whip to reach. But inbetween him and his objective was a small metal grate. Link pulled his clawshot out and flew through the air. He got the whip back out and flipped across the last two whip posts.

And there was the master key chest.

Link pulled the heavy gold key out and ran his finger over the still eye. Then he put it in his pocket and went back across the abyss. He landed and went back to the main chamber, nerves gnawing at his stomach.

Link climbed the stairs of the raised platform. He stared across at the giant locked door. Then he lit the two torches and large slabs of stone that were taller than he was rose up to form stairs up to the door. Link pulled himself up each slab and walked up to the door.

He stood before the door, took a deep breath, and stuck the key in the lock.

When Flick came to someone was gently bandaging her leg. She opened her eyes; a young man with red hair sat in front of her. He saw her eyes open and smiled at her. "Welcome back to the land of the liveing." He looked back at her leg and finished tying one last knot.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice sounded dry and scratchy.

"My name is Illion, I'm a doctor."

"Why are you here?"

"Talon wants to make sure you don't die." He handed her a small galss of water. She took it and drank in eagerly, suddenly noticing how thirsty she was.

"Who's Talon?" she asked. She put the cup down on the floor.

"The man with the scar. Do you know why he wants you? He wouldn't tell me anything."

Flick looked down at her hands. A single tear leaked out of her eye. "I'm a Hylian. He wants information on my land so he can envade us." He expression hardened. "But he chose the wrong Hylian to kidnap. I'm gonna make him regret his decision and he will pay. I'll make him pay. And as soon as my leg is better I'm outta here; he can't hold me."

"Why?"

"I've seen and defeated more evil creatures in one _year_ than he has in his entire _lifetime_." She ran her hand over her hat subconsiously. Illion noticed.

"I've never seen clothes like that before, do they mean anything?"

"Yeah. Hyrule has an ancient legend about a hero who, in times of the greatest darkness, comes forward and defeats that evil. It has always been a boy named Link who is known as the Hero of Time. But this time when Ganondorf, our greatest enemy, broke free from his imprisonment there were two of us.

"At first we didn't know anything about this. We were just two farmhands from Ordon Village. But one day these shadow creatures showed up and took our friends. We ran after them but there was this really weird wall standing in our way. This hand burst through and yanked us in. THe land was covered in a twilight where everyone got turned to spirits. But we didn't, we were turned to wolves. We met this Twili named Midna who wanted to defeat the upspurer Zant. We had to go around collecting the light stolen from the spirits of light to dispel the twilight. Midna told us that to defeat Zant we would need the three Fused Shadows from the temples. We got them but when we secured the final one Zant was there. He curesed us and got us stuck in our wolf formand pulled Midna into the light world where she can't survive. We had to hurry to Princess Zelda who sacrificed herself so Midna could live. But our curse was not broken. We went to the Sacred Gorge to break the curse. And then we got the Master Sword; it split in two when he touched it.

"Midna told us that the power we needed to defeat Zant was in the Twilight Realm and so we went to find the Mirror of Twilight. But it had been broken and the Sages told us of Ganondorf, an ancient enemy of Hyrule. We went to get the three pieces of the mirror and went into the Twilight Realm to get the power to dispel evil. We defeated Zant and returned to Hyrule to save Princess Zelda and defeat Ganondorf. Link killed Ganondorf and then things began to return to normal."

Flick laughed and shook her head. "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"Well I'm probably the only person whos' been nice too you here."

"Yes, that's true." Flick looked at Illion, calculating. "Can you get me out of here?"

"I don't know, I can try."

"Please do."

"Illion!" Someone yelled from on the deck. Illion smiled at Flick and stood up, taking his doctoring things with him.

**Me: There we go! Chapter four is done! I hope you've enjoyed the ride! Tune in next time for another exciting chapterr of Legend of Zelda: Twin Heroes.**


	6. Chapter Five

**Me: I've kinda been working on another TP fanfic, anyone interested? I'm thinking of getting further in this one before I put it up though. I'm thinking of calling it A Fugitive's Legacy. And that's all I'm gonna reveal. I recently discovered that you can check how many hits a story is getting. I know you're there! Why won't you leave me any reviews! Please do, they make me very happy!**

Chapter Five

Zelda cantered through the desert, her head lowered against the blowing sand. She needed to talk to Midna about what was going on. She ducked under one of those flying sand crocodile things and slowed her horse down as they crested a dune. Ahead of her she could see Arbiter's Grounds. As she got closer she could feel the buzzing power of the Seven Sages.

When she was close enough she was able to focus her power and warp up to the Mirror Room.

Zelda entered the room and froze; the Mirror was gone! There was no evidence of tampering or anything, it just wasn't there. "What did you do, Midna?" Zelda whispered to herself, expecting no answer.

But she did get an answer. _I'm sorry_, the voice floated into her head. _It had to be done._

"Why?" Zelda asked desperatly.

_Our worlds were not meant to mix._

"But Midna, we'll need your help soon. Someone is planning to envade us and Flick's been kidnapped but to go outside Hyrule Link has to gather thse potions from the temples so he could really use you're help! Midna, we don't know anything about these people, there could be millions of them for all we know!"

_I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do. I may be able to make another Mirror but it'll take time, time I'm not sure you have._

Zelda sighed. "It's alright, I suppose we'll manage somehow." But in her heart she wasn't so sure.

_I have to go, good luck._

Zelda sighed again and started back to her horse. What would they do now? They would just have to hope that what they had would be enough.

Midna sat on the simple black chair in the center of her throne room. She had just been about to deliver a speech to her people when Zelda had appeared. Her speech was going to be about how they would never go back to the world of light but know she wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say. Her advisors had been pushing her to make this speech for months now; they were convinced that it _was_ the right thing to do. But Zelda, Link, and Flick were her friends who had helped her through a time of great trouble for her people. It was time to return the favor.

Midna stood up; maybe her people would hate her for this but she knew it was the right choice.

She walked out onto the stone deck of her palace and stared dwon at her people who stared back at her, the soft purple color of duck illuminating their faces. "My people," she began, "no, my friends. I came here today thinking that I was going to tell you that we are going to officially sever all ties with the light world. But circumstances change. Princess Zelda came to the Mirror Room today to ask for our help with something extremely important. She was crushed to find taht I had destroyed the Mirror. A great threat hangs over Hyrule's head. A threat that may be greater than even Ganondorf himself, seeing as how they have no idea waht exactly this threat is.

"My friends I beg of you, help me find a way to remake the Mirror so that we may go back and help our brothers and sisters of light."

She stared at the silent, now sullen, crowd, begging them silently to agree. But it was not to be. Some idiot in the back spoke up. "Why do we care what happens to them? What have they ever done for us?"

"What have they done for us?" Midna roared, her voice echoing around the realm. "They freed us from Zant's grasp, that's what they did! They gave us back our home and they asked for nothing in return. And now it's time to pay off our debt. Flick and Link, the two people respossible for saving us, are in trouble. It's our job to help! I'm going to help, with or without your consent. Now, who's with me?"

There was silence for what felt like ages. Then a small voice belonging to a child spoke up bravely. "I'm with you." And so it was decided.

**Me: Hot damn, I am _amazing_ at inspirational speeches!**

Zelda made it back to Hyrule Castle with no problems and sent for Myron almost immediatly after taking care of her horse. "Milady," Myron said when he joined her in the dining hall. "How went your mission?"

Zelda scowled as she picked moodily at her food and didn't answer.

"That bad huh?" Myron asked. He pulled a chair up so he could sit next to her. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Midna destroyed the Mirror," Zelda answered. "She thinks she may be able to make a new one but it will take time. Time that we may not have."

"Yes. But I've sent out messangers to the Gorons and Zoras and we await their reply. Don't worry Princess, they won't beat us."

"Most likely. But still, I can't help but worry."

"Princess, I think you should talk to the people. Tell them what's going on."

Zelda nodded thoughfully and placed her fork down. "You're right. Send out a message." She stood up and smoothed her dress, wondering what she was going to say to these people.

**Me: A shorter chapter, yes, but they all can't be super long. How's about a quick recap? Link is about to face a boss, Flick finally meat someone who's nice to her, Midna is forging a new mirror, and Zelda is about to make a speech. Did I miss anything? Don't think so. See you later!**


	7. Chapter Six

Chatper Six

Link jogged swiftly down the dark hallway towards a pulsing speck of greenish light. He could hear a strange sucking noise from uphead, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. The liht grew continually brighter as he drew closer. He slowed down when he was at the door and tried to figure out what was on the other side, but the light was too bright. He went through and the door slammed shut behind him. A grate smashed up over the Triforce symbol on the door.

On the floor in front of him was a giant green plant. Dark green throny vines wrapped around a vulnerable lighter green inner plant flesh. In between two of the pulsing vines was what looked like a closed eye.

Link crept forward with the whip in his hand, and he was about five feet away when the eye snapped open. The white of the eye was red, the iris a sick looking yellow, and the black pupil dilated and contracted continually. Dark red gunk began to ooze off of one of the large thorns. A hissing sound emmanated from somewhere within the plant.

The pupil dialated as far as it could go and one of the thorns swelled up and shot a giant stream of the red gunk at him. Link leapt out of the way and rolled to a stop. The venom hit the wall behind where Link's head had just been and ate through the moss in seconds. Link cracked the whip at a second bulging thron; it expoloded and the plant-thing screeched in pain. When the steam cleared the skin was red and blistered.

The plant hissed at him again. One of the tentacle/vine things unwrapped itself fromthe body and swept at him with blinding speed. Link jumped back and cut of the vine, severing a good five feet of it. The plant growled and shot a gloopy ball at him. Link deflected it back at the plant with his shield but it fell apart before it reached the plant. Link cracked the whip at a solid looking thorn, pulling it out of the plant. The whip came back to his side and he flicked it again, sending the thorn flying into the eye. The plant roared and began to shudder. The eye snapped shut and the vines began to wave frantically. Link slashed through the vines that came too close and got splattered in some kind of green goop in the process.

The shuddering slowed and finally stopped and the plant was still. Link, unsure if it was dead or not, walked up to it slowly. He poked it with his toe. It didn't move, at first. In an explosion of motion the plant came to life and a vine wrapped around his ankle, yanking him off his feet. Link desperatly cracked the whip at a bulging thorn, it exploded before it could launch its deadly contents at his face.

The vine loosened during the plant's frantic thrashing and Link crashed to the floor. The plant's eye popped open to glare at him; it was bloodshot and swollen. All of the thorns began to swell up with venom. The plant was mad and it wanted him dead. Link twirled his sword in his hand once, then flung it at the eye with all his might. It flew true and plunged straight into the center of the pupil. The plant froze, then screamed a high pitched dying scream and exploded in a shower of neon green gunk, drenching Link from head to toe. Something clinked as it fell out of the plant and hit the floor.

Link opened his eyes and wiped some of the smelly junk from his face. There, in the biggest puddle of leftover plant, was a small brown bottle. Link picked it up gingerly and shook it; a gentle sloshing sound came forth.

A softly glowing circle of blue light appeared on the floor in front of him and Link stepped into it, knowing it would take him back out.

One down, three to go.

They spotted land after the fifth day of travel and the lead pirate, Talon, came down to talk to Flick. She watched him warily as he set down a tray of food and water. "Hello," he said pleasantly.

She said nothing.

"Are you hungry?" he asked; he held up a thick piece of bread.

She was starving but she didn't tell him so.

"I'll make you a deal. You answer my questions, I give you food. How does that sound?"

She regarded him suspisously.

"Alright then," he smiled emotionlessly. "How many men do you have?"

"I don't know," Flick said truthfully.

"What kind of defenses do you have around your castle?"

"Don't know," she said again.

"Do you know _anything_?" Talon asked, exhasperation finally creeping into his voice.

"I know you're a jackass," she said simply.

Anger crept into his expression and he took a large bite of the bread to get at her. She didn't show that it was bothering her a bit and just stared him down. He stared back at her and they stayed like that for several minutes. "Where does your princess live?" he asked finally.

"In the highest room of the tallest tower," Flick said cryptically.

"Straight answer please."

"In her castle," Flick told him, an unsaid 'duh' in her voice.

"How many guards does she have?"

Flick shrugged. "Donno. She can take care of herself."

"Is there anybody we should be particuarly worried about?"

"No," she lied. She wasn't going to give away Link, or herself. If he knew she was one of the strongest fighters in the land there would be no knowing what he would do to her. He might kill her outright and get someone who would be more cooperative. But then she got a brilliant idea. "Well," she said, pretending to be mulling the question over, "there might be one person..." she trailed of purposfully to leave him hanging.

"Who?" Talon asked eagerly. "Tell me."

"His name is Ganondorf. He's an ancient Gerudo warrior and a magic wielder; he's said to be one of the best. He's legendary and they say he can't be killed. The only problem is, no one's seen him in years. He went on some really long quest and hasn't contacted anyone since. But he always shows up in times of trouble. He can turn _any_ battle around."

Talon looked a little pale now but he passed it off nonchalantly. He threw a small piece of bread through the bars. Flick ate it eagerly. "Will your people surrender if it seems they are going to lose? Or will they fight to the last man standing?" He fingered another piece of bread tauntingly.

Flick shrugged her head. "Depends."

"On what?"

"Everything."

Talon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly wondering if this was worth it. "Are you all human?" he asked.

"No."

"Will you elaborate, please?"

"No."

He slammed his fist against the bars, the sound echoed through the hold. He was glaring furioulsy at her now, anger and hatred unmasked in his expression. "Answer my questions!"

_He doesn't have very good anger managment skills_, Flick thought but she didn't answer his question, it was too much fun watching him wig out.

"Fine," Talon snarled. He stood up and stalked out, accidentally leaving the tray of food behind him. Flick grinned as she scooched over to the bars, snagged the tray, and pulled it closer. She ate it all and drained the cup of water, then leaned her head against the bars and closed her eyes. Now, how was she going to get out? The only thing she knew for sure was that she wouldn't be able to do it alone.

Zelda was leaning out her bedroom window trying to think when she saw Link stagger out of a beam of blue light. He was covered in some kind of green gel and he looked exhausted but there was something clutched in his hand. Zelda grinned and hurried out of her room. She ran into him as he was starting to mount the steps to the castle. He gave her a tired smile.

"I would give you a hug, but you're kind of covered with something," Zelda said.

"Yeah." Link pulled his hat off to clead it, even his _hair_ was soaked.

Zelda didn't even ask. "Um, I've got some bad news, Link," she said instead. "Midna's destroyed the mirror."

Link's mouth fell open and he froze like that. Then he crumpled to the ground. "Do you mind if I let out a stream of curses, Princess?" His voice was a dead monotone, and his face was devoid of all emotion. Zelda shook her head. Link looked up at the sky and bellowed, "Shitfuckdamn! Why!" Tears were beginning to prickle in his eyes.

Zelda bent down and put her arms around him, not caring that she was ruining her dress. "Shh. It'll be okay."

He was shaking with sobs. "No it won't," his voice sounded strangled. "I'll never be able to find her now."

"You _will_ find her," Zelda told him. "I know it."

"Thanks," Link sniffed. They stood up and he blew for Epona. He handed Zelda the small brown bottle that he had been holding. "Keep this for me, will you?"

She nodded. "Of course."

He swung up onto Epona and was about to take off but she grabbed the reins. "Wait. You can't go out now. Its almost nighttime and you're exhausted; stay and rest." Indeed a deep purple light was beginning to fall across Hyrule, blanketing the land.

Link shook his head. "I can't. I need to be going." He gently tugged the reins away from her and tapped Epona's flanks. She set off at a trot, gathering speed as they rode away.

_He loves her_, Zelda thought as the young man and his horse disappeared. _He just doesn't know it._

**Me: Aww... so cute.**

**Okay, so I try to break up the sections with lines but the site doesn't recongize them when I save, sorry.**

**I beat Wind Waker last night! And oh my god it's only May 10th but it got up to, like, 90 fricking degrees. Blek. I must now get Ocarina of Time!**

**R&R please!**


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The shade swept across the land, life withering in his wake. A small farming village qwas his destination. Where better to start gathering strength then somewhere quiet and out of the way where no one would notice - or care - if anything was amiss.

He needed followers, and fear. Fear gave him strength. He needed people who would carry out his orders where he could not and so he could stay perfectly invisible. Possesion was usually the best method, but this time there were simply too many to possess. So the shade deicided another method. He would take over what gave them life.

The tall building carved into a tree loomed into view and the shade flew through the door, heading straight for its heart.

**XXX**

Flick woke up gasping, the remmenents of the dream already beginning o fade from her mind as the throb in her leg awoke. She could hear shouting up above her and something splashed into the water. Flick go to her feet shakily and hopped over to the bars. Somebody clomped down the stairs and came over to her cell; he had a piece of rope in one hand. "What's happening?" Flick asked.

He unlocked her cell but didn't answer. "Hold out your hands."

She complied and he tied her hands tightly with the piece of rope. He led her up the stairs, she hopping akwardly and him sighing impatiently. OUtside the sun was shining brightly and air was warm. Off the bow was a grassy hill with a stone road carved through it. Metal carriages were pulled by some unseen force and people scurried around loading the carriages and carrying packages from place to place. Flick looked behind her only to see a vast, unending swath of ocean. She sighed and looked back at the new country before her.

She was pushed forward and led down a ladder, then loaded into the open back of one of the metal things. It rumbled to life and began to move, bouncing her all over the place. She yelled as he bad leg bashed into the side. People stopped and stared as they went by, some even pointed and chittered amoungst themselves. Flick glared at them.

The journey was long and boring and they never stopped. The sun had been low in the east when they'd left, but now it was high in the sky and beginning to lean west. Of in the distance she could see the edges of a large city and that city appeared to be their destination. BUt it was another half an hour before they actually reached it. The land had not changed out of grassy rolling hills for the entire journey. Flick didn't thing she'd seen an single tree.

The stoped by a small, wooden, horse-drawn cart just outside the city limits. Talon and another man jumped out of the front cab and came around to where she was sitting. Talon jumped in, picked her up, and handed her to the burly man who'd gotten out with him. The man loaded her into the back of the wooden cart and tied her hands to the wooden pole in the center of the floor. The two of them then jumped into the front and Talon snapped the reins. The horses started off at a brisk walk and they entered the city.

People in dull colored lined the narrow streets; they had obviously known that this was happening. They gasped when they saw her and drew back a step. Flick glowered down at them. Talon stood up and began to speak. "Behold the Hylian! But more than that, behold the Hero of Time!"

He grinned menacingly at her as she froze; how did he find out? The people staring at her harder, more curiously, now and someone in the crowd laughed. Flick said nothing.

"These Hylians," Talon laughed, shaking his head at some idiocity, "they're so childish, so _primitive_, that they have a _female_ for their last defense and - _and_ - a female ruler!" The crowd burst into laughter and Flick realized something; there were no women in the crowd, only men. "They'll be easy to take," Talon continued. "They won't even know what hit 'em."

"You're wrong," Flick said loudly; she had grown tired of staying quiet.

Talon looked at her in surprise and anger. "What?" he asked curtly.

"I said you're wrong. You've never seen my people in action, you've never seen what we can do. You don't know what kind of threats we've driven away, or the horrors we've seen. You're fools," she spat the word out, "if you think you can just waltz in and take us. You're in for the biggest godsdamn fight of your lives."

"Shut up, bitch," one of the men in the crowd spat.

"Yeah," another said, "what do _you_ know? You're just a kid, and a girl at that."

"I know a lot more than you do," Flick yelled.

Then the first stone was thrown. It came from somewhere in the back of the crowd and Flick never saw who threw it. It struck her in the stomach, driving the air out of her lungs. Then more rocks flew and Flick could do nothing to avoid them. They were

_(burning)_

coming from everywhere now. Every man was throwing them at her and

_(burning)_

shouting obsenities. Talon was yelling at them to stop and he was shooting glares at her as if this was all her fault. He shouted something at the driver and then the driver flicked the reins, but there was a wall of

_(flames)_

people who wouldn't get out of the way. Talon was yelling something else at them but Flick could no longer hear his words. It was as if the whole world had suddenly gond silent. In her head familiar evil laughter sounded and she saw flashes of images. A forest burning, an exploding mountain, a frozen wasteland. A low voice resonated from nowhere. "I'll be back," it said. "And this time, there's no stopping me." Then a rock struck her head and knocked her out.

**XXX**

Link decided to go to the Zora's Domain to see if any of the Zoras knew something about the potion that was supposedly somewhere in their domain. He left Epona to graze just outside the entrance to Lake Hylia and paid the ten rupees to take a Cuccoo down to the lake. He wondered how he was going to get up to the Zora's Domain; he'd always had Midna to warp him up before. He slipped into the Zora Armor and dove into the water. It was colder than he remembered; almost frigid.

Link popped back above the surface and suddenly a scream shattered the air. Link jumped and looked around. The sound came from the canon repair shop. The old man was staring at the water which was beginning to freeze. The ice took over the water rapidly and was speeding towards where Link floated. He turned adn swam for shore as quickly as he could. He barely made it. The ice slammed against the rock just as the end of his foot cleared the water. He turned around and stared at the now frozen lake. Even the pounding water fall was frozen solid, its tumbling form perfectly captured in ice.

Link stood up and slid the Zora Armor off; he didn't think he'd need it anymore. He prodded the ice curiously with his toe. He could see down through the ice and he found that Lake Hylia was frozen down to its bottom. He stepped onto the ice and skidded over to the old man who was still standing and staring in shock. "Hey, what happened here? Do you know?"

The old man looked at Link slowly, his neck seeming to creak. "The lake froze over, whaddas it look like?"

"I know, but do you know how it happened?"

The man shook his head. "I'm kinda worried about the Zoras, though. Do you think you could check on them?"

Link nodded. "Of course. I'm heading up there anyways."

Link turned to leave but the old man quickly stopped him. He looked like he had something he wanted to say but he was unsure how to. "What is is?" Link asked.

"That girl you're always with, Flick," the old man said hesitantly, "where is she?"

Link looked down at the ground, not wanting to answer. "She's been kidnapped," he answered slowly. "By some pepole outside Hyrule."

"Why ain't you gone after her?"

"I have to get going. But I'm working on it, believe me I am."

The old man nodded and Link set off across the ice. By now the sun had dipped beneath the horizan completely and Link could barely see a thing. He knew that trying to scale the massive waterfall to get to the Zora's Domain was a foolish idea, especially at this time of night. He would probably slip and break his neck.

He reluctantly sat down beneath the frozen falls and stared out across Lake Hylia. The stars were out and reflected across the dark blue surface. Link lay down to sleep and quickly drifted off.

**XXX**

The shade was situated deep within the Forest Temple and his hold over its creatures was absolute. The simple farmers had no idea what was going on; except that their forest was slowly dying. Soon it would be just a blackened husk... and then it would be an evil mindless automan.

Next he would take Death Mountain. He would make rain fiery death upon all hwo inhabited it. Rivers of lava would flow and there would be nowhere that was safe. Then the lava would harden, turning the fertile land of Hyrule Field into a cold lifeless plateau.

Third would be Lake Hylia and the damned Zoras. The shade would contaminate the water, turning the clear liquid muddy and green, then black. Notihng would be able to survive or grow in the putrid depths. The idiot Hylians would quickly starve as the disease spread across the land. Not even the damned Heroes of Time would be able to overcome it. Then the shade would strike and all would be lost.

The shade cackled evily to himself and set about bringing Phase Two into action.

**A/N Is there even any doubt as to who the shade is? Just wondering.**

**Sorry this chapter awhile; I got distracted by this other Zelda fanfic I'm working on and this Harry Potter-Pokemon crossover I started. And I was reading this hilarious Zelda/Pokemon parody, then I started working on one of my own. Sorry.**

**R&R?**


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The next morning Zelda picked moodily at her breakfast. She had to give a speech today but she had no idea what to say. Did she want to tell her people not to worry, that they had it all under control? Or did she want to tell them that they really had no idea what the threat was? Should she tell them about the situation with Flick? Or would that just make them scared? "Screw it," she muttered, "I'm just going to wing it."

She stood up, food uneaten, just as Myron strode in. He gave her a small bow. "M'lady. Are you ready?"

"I suppose so," Zelda sighed. "May I ask you a question?" she asked as they walked down the deserted hallway.

"Of course."

They stopped just outside the door that led to the balcony where Zelda would give her speech. "What do you think I should say?" she asked. "Honestly."

"Myron looked down the hall. "Tell them the truth," was all he said.

Zelda nodded and turned to the door. She turned the knob and stepped through, out onto the shaded balcony. She approached the railing and stared out at the crowded square. People huddled shoulder to shoulder and stared up at her with a mixture of expressions on their faces. Some looked scared, some angry, some confused, determined, ready, and some just looked shocked. Mothers held onto their infants, small hands grasped at pant legs or skirts, men and women hand their hands on sword hitlts, ready for action. Others fidgeted, looking ready to flee.

"Hello," Zelda began. She spoke softly but her voice still echoed around the silent square. "I stand before you today and I have to admit, I don't really know what it is I want to say to you. Shall I tell you not to worry? No, that would probably be a lie. Shall I tell you that we have it all under control? No, for that is a lie as well. Instead, I'll be brutally honest with you." Zelda stopped to take a deep breath to steel herself. "We don't really know what's going on."

Surprised gasps rose from the crowd. Zelda pushed on. "We know that the threat comes from across the seas, from a land far from Hyrule. We know their technology is greater than ours, but we also know they don't have magic. We know they have taken Flick captive-" more gasps, "but unfortunetly we don't know what information they've been able to get out of her. Link has rushed off in an effort to save her. I don't know how long it will take." Zelda paused and swallowed ineffectually. "We're doing our best. I've got patrols out along the beaches and ships patrolling the seas. If any of you see anything, hear anything, or know anything that could help, please tell us. And if you have any concerns, worries, don't be afraid to come for us for comfort. We'll get through this, I promise you that."

The expressions on the faces were different now. Some seemed calmed but others were even more scared. Zelda didn't know what else she could do. She gave them one last smile that she hoped was comforting, and went back inside. Myron was waiting for her and he gave her an approving nod. "I think that was the right thing to say."

"Thanks," she let out a shuddering sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'll always be here," Myron said sincerely. "Whenever you need me."

She took his arm and leaned on him, eyes closed. "I need you now." She felt his hand on her head.

"Then I'm here."

**XXX**

The small child watched the man in green toss restlessly in his sleep. The frozen waterfall cast a shadow across the man's troubled face but the small child could see everything anyways. The child giggled, a dark creepy sound, and jumped off the rock. The trap was laid, now all that was left to do was wait.

**XXX**

Link woke early, before the sun had even begun to light the far horizan. He had been plagued by terrible dreams that he couldn't even remember now. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as he shivered. Cold was radiating off the frozen lake and Link felt like a block of ice. He stood up stiffly and stretched; he imagined that he could hear himself creaking.

Link ate a cold breakfast of dried meat and an apple. Then he packed up his stuff and stood, staring up the daunting height of the falls. He couldn't see the top, or any sign that it was going to melt. Link sighed and poked the bottom with his toe. It was slick and unyielding.

_Best just get started_, Link thought, so he grabbed the only ledge that he could reach - it was right below his chin - and hauled himself up. His boots scrambled at the ice, searching for purchase. He pulled himself up onto the narrow ledge and his toe slipped. His stomach dropped as his chin smacked against the ice and his fingers scrabbled to save him. He caught a thin ledge and he didn't fall. He stood there and breathed, leaning his hot head against the cold surface of the falls. _This is a very bad idea_. But he could think of no better way.

Link had his hand on the next ledge when a quiet voice from below made him jump and almost fall off, agian. "What are you doing?"

Link looked down to see a small girl around eight looking up at him with her hands behind her back. She had wide cornflower blue eyes framed by silky black hair with a bow in it. She wore a flower print dress and black boots on her feet.

"I'm trying to get to the Zora's Domain," Link answered. He looked back up the waterfall.

"By climbing three hundred feet of slippery ice? It doesn't seem like you'll make it to me."

"Do you know any _other_ way?" Link placed a foot in a crevice and prepared to place all his weight on it; he hoped it would hole and he wouldn't slip of and die.

"Well, there _is_ a cave fifty feet to your right that goes all the way to where you want to go."

Link stopped again and looked back down at the girl who was smiling and nodding. He jumped of the waterfall and landed lightly. "I'm thinking that may be a better idea."

The child nodded. Link took off, glad he didn't have to climb the frozen waterfall. "Hey," the child stopped him again. "You're going the wrong way."

Link paused and held up his hands in two L-shapes and saw that she was correct. He grinned sheepishly and thanked her before setting off again, this time in the right direction.

**XXX**

Allai watched the hero disappear in the wall. He was kind of an idiot. What sort of hero can't tell left from right? It didn't matter though, as long as he took the tunnel. It led straight to the lair of a truely fearsome beast. The Argog. Allai cackled wildly to herself before transforming into a small raven so she could beat the hero there and awaken the beast. Oh this fight would be delicious!

**XXX**

Link stepped into the dark tunnel and pulled out his lantern. Lighting it, he looked around. The tunnel was stone, but he couldn't tell if it had just eroded away, or if something had made it. There were small patches of frozen blue moss on the floor and on the walls. Small puddles of ice made the floor slick under foot and Link could see his breath before his face. There were no signs of life, no sounds, no droppings, not even any bones.

Link took off, quickly traversing the gently sloping floor. The tunnel seemed to wind around and around, and Link couldn't tell how long it was. He wasn't concerend about the fuel leven in his lantern yet; he still had a whole other bottle in his bag.

He climbed for what felt like hours, gradually growing dizzier and dizzier. "Ugh," he groaned to himself, "I'm so bored." His words echoed around the tunnel, following him and procceding him. He thought he was going to go crazy. "Where's Flick's jokes when you need 'em?" he wondered.

_Need 'em, need 'em_, the tunnel echoed back to him.

"Shut up," he told it.

_Shut up_, it mocked back.

Finally the tunnel leveled out and became straight again. Link could see a faint glow at the other end and he picked up his pace, wanting to get out. He came through and noticed two things. Fist were all the bones, second was the giant angry spider. Then a portcullis slammed up behind him. _Uh-oh_, he thought as the spider turned its baleful eye on him.

**XXX**

When Allai reached the Argog's lair she could hear the echoes of the "hero" coming from the tunnel. She poked one of the Argog's many legs. "Hey, wake up." The spider ignored her. She sighed and looked around for a good-sized rock. Spotting a heavy looking boulder, she went over and picked it up, grunting with the effort. Allai carried it over and held it above the giant spider's head. "Wake up!" she yelled as she let it drop.

The boulder sertainly did its job right. The Argog's eyes snapped open just as the "hero" stumbled into the room. The young man in green was the first thing it saw. Allai settled back in a small concealed nook to watch as the battle commenced.

**Me: And another character comes into play. Whew, things are getting complicated. Oh, its pronnounced All-aye, just so ya know.**


	10. Chapter Nine

**Me: Leh, I've got about four other Zelda fics in my notebook and I can't decide if (when) I want to put any of them up! There's an Ocarina of Time one and a Twilight Princess one, one from a world of my own, and a romance one that combines some of the worlds. And a oneshot but after that one's finished I know I'm going to put it up. Eeh, I'll decide eventually.**

Chapter Nine

The dreams were infested with spiders. Big ones, little ones, poisonous ones, ones with giant fangs, colorful spiders, all black spiders, black widows, daddy long legs, tarantulas, all of them dangerous, all of them deadly, and all of them streamying towards a lone figure facing off against the mother of them all. A giant black spider with a multitude of piercing red eyes and fangs the size of broadswords. The figure raised his weapon, and the dream went black.

**XXX**

Zelda woke with a start; cold sweat covering her body. She pushed her damp hair out of her face and slid out of bed. She went to the mirror. Zelda looked terrible; there were dark bags under her eyes which seemed to have lost some of their color, and her face was even paler than usual. Zelda slid a pair of slippers on and went to the door, in need of comfort.

Zelda went to Myron's room, which was just down the tightly spiraling staircase from hers, and kncoked gently. He came to the door only moments later, took one look at her face, and wrapped his arms around her with no questions asked. He guided her into the room and closed the door with his foot. "What is it?" he asked when they were seated on the bed, Zelda still tightly in his arms.

"Spiders," she whispered. "My dream was full of them. And Link; they were all heading for him and there was a giant spider at least the size of a house and he was going to _fight_ it..." she trailed off, her face buried in Myron's shoulder, her tears dampening his shirt.

"Shh," Myron murmered, running his hand over the top of her head comfortingly, "I'm sure Link's fine."

But Zelda was sure Link _wasn't_. She knew he was in grave danger; she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. But she aslo knew there was nothing she could do. Link was either going to survive or... she didn't want to think about that possibility.

**XXX**

Flick woke up from the disturbing dream when someone slapped her across the face. When she opened her eyes, cheek stinging, she was tied to a chair in a dark room illuminated by a single torch. The dream fled her mind, all except for one image; the boy and the giant spider._ Link hates spiders,_ she thought. _I hope he doesn't totally freak out and do something stupid that'll get him killed_. Then she noticed Talon standing there, glaring down at her. "Hi," she said, "there's a giant spider on your head."

Talon jumped and started beating at his head desperatly. Flick giggled. Noticing her smile Talon stopped leaping around like a crazed monkey. He resumed glaring at her. "You shoulda seen you're face..." Flick chuckled. "Priceless."

"That's the last time _you'll_ be laughing," Talon guarranteed.

"Did you know you have a large nose?" Flick asked, ignoring the pirate completely. "And your hair is very greasy. Do you _ever_ wash it?"

"Of course I wash it!" Talon yelled. "What do you think I am? A barbarian?"

"Quite possibly. But hey! Don't feel bad about it; I know some really cool barbarians." It was true; she and Link had once met a tribe of barbarians who could whip up one mean stew. Of course, they were also cannibals... but they also knew some great jokes.

Talon glowered at her pefore pinching the bridge of his nose and wondering to himself, "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because some evil dude has your wife and kids and is threatening to kill them if you don't comply to his every whim?" Flick guessed.

"I don't _have_ a wife and kids."

"Money?" she tried. "Power? Fame? Sex?"

Talon shook his head with extreme exhasperation. "No, just, no. Uh! I'm going to go... do something... away from you." And he left.

"Bye!" Flick called after him. She felt better than she had in awhile. "Look out for the flames!" That came out of nowhere. But she just felt like everything was going to burn. No reason for it, no rhyme, just an unrelenting feeling of doom and decay.

**Me: The last couple of chapters have been a little dark so I decided to have a little fun! I love poking fun at people. *picks up the word 'fun' and starts poking Samik with it* Hehehe.**

**Samik: *pushes fun away* Let's go on before Enia makes someone go crazy.**

**Me: Hm, good idea.**

"I hate spiders!" Link shrieked as he flung himself out of the path of a giant hairy leg. "Why must it be a spider?"

No one answered him.

Link swung his sword wildly at the gruesome beast. Eight long, hairy, segmented legs longer than two of Link and three times as wide, uncountable red twitching eyes that locked on Link and wouldn't leg him go, a head larger than a man-crushing boulder, and a body as large as Link's house. Fangs like broadswords protruded from its lips and quivered with venom. The room they were in was small; there was only about there feet of space between Link and the monstrosity. The rank, powerful smell of death and decay permeated the air and made Link want to barf. And then, to make matters worse, it spoke. "WHO ARE YOU TO DISTURB MY SLEEP?" it asked in a deep thundering voice that shook the cave.

"Aaarghh!" Link yelled. "It talks! What the hell?"

"OF COURSE I TALK, WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM, STUPID?"

"You're a spider," Link said, trying to calm his fraying nerves. "Spiders aren't supposed to talk."

"I'M NOT JUST ANY SPIDER," the spider said, unmistakable pride coloring its voice. "I AM ARGOG; THE KING OF KINGLY SPIDERS. NOW," anger crept back into its voice, "I ASK AGAIN: WHO ARE YOU TO DISTURB MY SLEEP?"

"Um, well, you see," Link stammered nervously, "I didn't mean too disturb you're sleep. In fact, I didn't even know that you were asleep, or that you were even _here_ for that matter. I was just trying to get to the Zora's Domain, 'cause, uh, the waterfall is frozen and I was gonna try to climb it - stupid I know - but, uh, this girl told me there was this tunnel that would serve the same purpose, so that's how I got here. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll just be going..." Link started trying to edge around the giant beast. The Argog moved to block him.

"SO... YOU DIDN'T DROP A BOULDER ON MY HEAD?"

"Me? No no no, of course not. Why would I want to do that? Psh, no, I'm just passing through."

"REALLY? WELL, SEEING AS HOW YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THIS CAVERN BESIDES MYSELF, I AM NOT ENTIRELY INCLINED TO BELIEVE YOU."

"Hm, good point. Wait! there's someone to your right!" Link shouted, flinging his hand out. When the Argog turned eagerly Link dove beneath its great girth, assuming the door would be on the other side. But it wasn't. There was just a wall. "Well crap," Link muttered as the Argog once again turned its full attention on him.

"A CLEVER PLOY, BOY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS CAVERN IS ABOVE MY HEAD!"

Link looked up to see a small patch of blue sky. "Hey, thanks for telling me."

The spider paused to think about this. "OPPS. OH WELL, IT MATTERS NOT; YOU'LL NEVER GET A CHANCE TO USE IT." The spider began to advance towards Link, pushing Link back towards the wall. Link's boots crushed the bones on the floor to dust and it puffed up into the air. "Wanna make a deal?" asked Link, both desperately and hopefully.

"NO, NOT REALLY."

"How about you let me go now, and I promise I'll come back and let you kill me later?" Link knew it wouldn't work, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK I'M THAT DUMB?" the Argog asked angrily. ITs body was starting to pulse now, venom was building up in its fangs and the giant stinger that was thicker than Link's head. The eyes flashed red.

"Well one can hope," Link answered.

The Argog reared up and its stinger flew at Link. He dove to the side and rolled, crushing more bones as he did so. The dust was starting to build up in the air now; Link could taste it in his mouth. He yanked the Gale Boomerang from his bag and flung it in an arc around the spider. "HA," the Argog spat, "YOU MISSED." And then the boomerang severed the tip of its stinger. Roaring in pain the spider dashed Link against the wall and held him there. The boomerang returned to Link's hand (boomerang, you really _do_ always come back!) and he chucked at the spider's leering face. It hit an eye dead on and bounced back; Link caught it with his feet. The Argog let Link drop and scuttled away; Link thought he could hear it sniffling.

"THAT HURT!" the Argog bellowed.

"But you were going to _eat_ me!" Link retorted defensivly. "I had to do _something_!"

"YOU COULD OF ASKED POLITELY!"

"I already tried that, remember?" Link reminded it. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted his clothes off. And he had to drop to the ground as the Argog tried to bumrush him. He rolled out from under the shadow just before it hit the ground. Link pulled the Hero's Bow out and attached a bomb tot he end of the arrow. He drew, aimed, and fired... and was thrown against the wall by the force of the blast. "Okay, bad idea," he groaned. the Argog wasn't even hurt, just annoyed.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the Argog yelled. "WHAT DID YOUTHROW AT ME!"

"Uh, bomb arrow" Link answered. He yelped and rolled violently to a side when the Argog tried to kill him, again.

Suddenly the Argog sneezed. It was a tremendous sneeze that lifted Link into the air and left him hanging from a vine twenty feet above the floor. "AAAA! ALLERGIES!" the Argog screamed and sneezed again. Link was blasted into the ceiling and lost hold of the rock. The Argog sneezed a third time and Link was pushed through the small hole in the ceiling. He landed painfully on the hard rock above.

"I hate spiders," he muttered.

**XXX1**

Allai was frozen with shock, unable to comprehend what she had just seen. The Argog hadn't even come _close_ to killing the "hero"! Instead it had an allergic fit and blown the boy out of his lair! What the hell!

Allai grumbled angrily as she climbed down from her little perch. The Argog was lying in a motionless pile with his eight legs splayed out around him and his head in a pile of bones. Allai kicked him and muttered, "You're useless." The Argog didn't move; it was out for the count at the moment but still breathing. "I'll come for you again," Allai promised, "and this time, you'd better not fail me!"

**Me: I think this is my favorite chapter in the whole story so far. It was a lot of fun to write. You know, I fell so happy, this story got over 100 hits in the merry old month of May, yet... I still only have THREE FREAKING REVIEWS! WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT! *goes into a screaming rage and utterly destroys the room she's currently residing in* Sorry, I needed to do that. *looks around* Opps. Wow, this room isn't even _recongizable_ anymore; this is gonna take a long time to clean up...**

**Yes, the Argog was based of of Aragog from Harry Potter and that giant spider in Lord of the Rings whose name I can't remember right now. Did anybody catch my quote? I love that show... I'm rather surprised I haven't written a Fanfiction about it yet.**

**School got out yesterday, I'm home free now! Onyx made me get a Facebook, it's weird. Peace!**

**R&R? (Please? Do you _want_ me to destroy something else?)**


	11. Chapter Ten, Part Un

**Me: If this chapter were to have a name it would probably be something along the lines of _New Things, New People, New Experiences_. It's all about the new. It may even be a two-parter, who knows.**

Chapter Ten

You need four things to craft a Mirror of Twilight; an ancient metal, a certain spell, a bit of magic, and a whole lot of luck. They head the second two, the first would be very difficult to obtain - Mida didn't even know if any existed anymore - and the fourth, well, no one could know for sure about that one. The metal could be found deep in an ancient mountain of the Twilight Realm called Arphon. The mountain was a two day's journey from the castle and the metal was deep inside its heart. The journey was also fraught with peril; only the strongest would be able to survive it.

Midna called for Soldad, her greatest warrior. He entered her room only a few minutes after being called. He gave her a bow, silver-black armor gleaming. "What can I do for you today, m'lady?" he asked courteously.

"I need you to go to Arphon," Midna told him, "and bring back enough Acainde to forge a new mirror."

Soldad showed no concern or fright over the daunting task. "Of course, Princess," he said, "it will be done."

"Good, please hurry."

**XXX**

Soldad left the floating castle on a Shadow Kargarok. A deep purple glow had settled across the land as what the Twili considered to be night began to fall. Small black shapes winged through the air as they headed back to their nests, and as the night-dwellers came out to play. Soldad was heading for a dark and jagged shape far off in the distance; th Arphon Range. There he hoped to find the ancient metal and return alive.

A lound screech suddenly shattered the air and Soldad looked around in alarm. It sounded like the call of a Deolful, the deadliest night-dweller in the Twilight Realm. Deolfuls were known for their viciousness and their appetite. The could grow to over thirty feet long from tail-tip to snout and had a wingspan of twenty feet. A row of foot long spikes ran down their backs and ended at a spiked ball. They had armored scales covering every inch of their bodies and great curved fangs protruding from their mouths along with sharp horns coming from their heads. Their only weakness was their two small, glowing red eyes that were barely bigger than a fist. Soldad really did not want to meet one.

The screech shattered the air agian and Soldad ducked down low over the neck of the Kargarok. He really didn't want to be seen. Too bad for him. Suddenly a shadow passed over his mount's neck. He looked up... to see the red and leering eye of a Deolful staring down at him. "Whoa!" he yelled as he had to yank the reins hard to the right and the Kargarok rolled over to avoide a pair of slashing talons.

**(Random Author's Note! I'm eating Goldfish right now; they're very tasty. I feel kinda brutal when I eat them. Sorry, this is kinda ruining the suspense, isn't it?)**

Soldad righted himself and quickly unslung the great warbow from his back. He knocked an arrow and aimed, getting the angry red eye in his sights. He released the string and was confident it would slam home, until the deolful switched its head to one side. The arrow clattered harmlessly off of its scales. The Deolful roared at the Twili warrior and opened its mighty jaws. Soldad heard the faint hissing noise and saw the flickering at the back of the monster's throat. He yanked up on the reins and his Kargarok mount quickly gained altitude. And not a moment too soon. A jet of flickering black smoke errupted from its maw, disintegrating an unfortunate bird that happened to be flying by.

Soldad cursed and urged his Kargarok to go faster. This was the one thing that he really didn't want to have to deal with. He could sense the Deolful pursuing him and gaining with each massive wingbeat. Soldad cut sharply to the right. He had spotted a dense looking clound bank and was fully intending to use it for cover. His Kargarok disappeared into the clouds into the clounds only moments befvore the Deolful blasted another jet of shadowy stuff after them. The Deolful roared as they disappeared from sight. Soldad breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it wing away. This was going to be a very ardorous journey, wasn't it?

**XXX**

"Wake up," something hard struck Flick's head, "I want to show you something."

Flick groaned and sat up, rubbing at her aching head. "What?" she grumbled.

"Get up," Talon's voice answered. "There's something you need to see."

Slowly, Flick struggled to her feet. Her leg didn't hurt as much when she put weight on it; a good sign. Talon turned on his heel and she followed him. He led her up a long and narrow flight of stairs. He paused to open a door made out of dark wood, and a bright strip of light fell across their faces. Flick winced and squeezed her eyes shut as the light started a new thread of a headache in her head.

Talon strode out of the basement and into a shabbily furnished room. There was just enough stuff to make the room seemed lived in so it wouldn't draw suspicion. They didn't stay long, leaving it for a dimly lit room filled with all sorts of contraptions. Giant swords, strange metal tube things, vehicles that looked impervious to bombs, and so many other things that Flick couldn't even try to describe. Talon smirked arrogantly at her dumb-founded look. "Do you see now?" he asked. He picked up one of the larger tube things and toyed with it. "You can't hope to stand against us. We've got to much firepower."

"I donno," Flick said skeptically, "those things don't look particularly dangerous to me."

His smile widened menacingly as he turned one end on her. "Oh really?" and he squeezed the trigger.

A bright flash came from the thing and an instant later something ripped through her shoulder. She inhaled sharply at the sudden and searing pain that took over the entire right side of her chest. She looked down to see that her tunic was turning dark red. "What?" she managed to gasp, her vision weaving in and out as the pain worsened.

"It's called a gun," Talon said with cruel delight. "Very powerful, very deadly."

"Why'd you fire it at _me_?" Flick asked weakly.

"Just wanted to show you what it could do. Now come on, get up." He placed the gun back on its rack, came over, and hauled her to her feet. He led her out of the room and to another, this one filled with rows upon rows of armor. "Each uniform stands for one solider," Talon said, running his finger across the gleaming metal of a chest plate. "And then we've got the soliders who don't wear uniforms." They left the room and came out outside. They were standing on a balcony and looking out over a vast training field. People practiced with the guns, swords, spears, and other weapons. Flick noticed that none of them were particularly good. Most of them sucked, actually.

"What do you hope to accomplish?" she asked. "Why do you want Hyrule?"

Talon grinned as he stared out at the trainees. "Simple," he said. "We want world domination, and your little country is the only thing standing between us and that goal."

"I think you have grossly underestimated my people," Flick said defiantly, "if you think you can take us without having the fight of your lives."

"Enlighten me."

"We are a proud people, a strong people. We have fought many a battle with seemingly insurmountable odds and alsways come out on top."

"Because of this Hero of Time," Talon interuptted. "Don't worry, that won't be a problem either."

"Then you have also underestimated myself and my companion. And be warned; people who do that usually end up dead."

Talon's laugh turned cold and cruel. "Then why are you still here?" He laughed again. "Maybe _you_ have _over_estimated yourself. You're nothing, really, without that Link boy to help you. And even he won't be able to stop a bullet from going through his head."

Flick couldn't take it anymore. She'd had enough of the malice, the threats, the insults, the pain. "SHUT UP!" she roared. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" She didn't know if he'd responded or not; she'd already flung herself off the low balcony.

Flick hit the ground hard, her hurt leg buckling only slightly, and took off across the hard ground. People jumped back out of her out of fear of being bowled over, until Talon yelled for them to get her. She spun around one and ducked under the reaching arm of a second before slamming her elbow into the gut of a swordsman and taking the weapon from his lax grip. She whacked at the face of a man coming to intercept her with the pommel of the sword and he crumpled to the ground. She leapt over his body and kept running to who knows where.

A gunshot ripped through the air by her ear and knocked a good sized chunk of rock out of a stone pillar in front of her. Flick glanced back over her shoulder to see Talon striding towards her, raising the gun to his shoulder to shoot again. Flick turned sharply to the left, only to have to scramble back again as a leering man lunged at her. The crack of the gunshot hurt her ears and the bullet grazed by her shoulder. She hissed in pain but kept going. She blocked a sword swipe intended to cleave her in two and kicked the man away. She ducked under another flashing sword and rammed her unhurt shoulder into his stomach. She sliced visiously at the face of the final man between her and freedom as he attempted to trip her up.

And then there was just open space in front of her. Flick ran faster but then...

...something smashed into her hip, throwing her off her feet and flinging her to the ground. Her face contorted with pain as she clutched at her hip and attempted to stagger back to her feet. But a heavy boot pushed her back down. She stared up at the angry face above her with tears blurring her vision. Talon was not at all pleased.

Flick was hauled to her feet, his hand biting painfully into her arm. "Did you honestly think that would work?" he shook her roughly. "Did you?"

Flick tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it didn't really work. "I had to try." Her hat flickered in the wind and that seemed to set Talon off. He snatched it from her head and shook it in front of her face.

"You're nothing, you hear me? Nothing! Your people are nothing, your Link is nothing, and you are nothing." He released his hold on the hat and the wind caught it, carrying it in a lazy loop away from them. Soon it disappeared from sight. Flick felt tears beginning to prickle in her eyes.

"Bastard," she whispered, so low he couldn't hear her. The first tear fell and the rest quickly followed.

**XXX**

Link picked himself up off the ground and set off towards the river that was only about thirty yards away. He wanted to talk to the Zoras as quickly as he could so he could be on his way. But a sound drifted over to his ears on the wind. It sounded like a child's cry for help. Link took off without a second thought. The sound was coming from his right, seemingly from a dark shape shrouded in fog. As he got closer he saw that it was a giant temple made of obsidian. He saw something disappear through the door. Then he noticed the giant statue of a spider in the very front. _Oh come on_, he thought. _Why is it always spiders?_

_Too be continued..._

**Me: I was right! This is gonna be a deux part chapter!**

**Link: I hate you, ya know that?**

**Me: Most of my characters do. You'll get over it.**

**Flick: Why is it always me?**

**Me: Hm?**

**Flick: Why was _I_ the one who got captured?**

**Me: 'Cause Link's the game's protagonist. You're an OC.**

**Samik: You should base a character off of me.**

**Me: M'k, Samik.**

**Okay, this chapter took a little while. I was exhausted all week; swimming was really hard.**

**I fell like I should explain that Goldfish think. I was eating them as I went to my violin lesson and they were so smiley and happy looking. As I crunched them to pieces I felt rather brutal. They were tasty, though.**

**This may be that last chapter for the next week and a half or so; I have an Orc-Dork camp with my good friend Zeus on the Loose. (her user name)**

**Later people, please leave a review.**


	12. Chapter Ten, Part Deux

Chapter Ten, Part Deux

Link stood under the giant spider statue, trying to control his panic. He took one deep breath, then another, and another, and told himself to stop being stupid, it was just a bug for Din's sake. A giant eight-legged but bulging with venom and sharp pointy things.

Link told himself to stop being such a scardey-Cucco and just get going. He looked at his leg and scowled at it, willing it to move. It remained frozen. Finally he got it to move and he skirted around the giant statue, watching it suspisiously.

He stoped again just in front of the door. It was smooth and black, the only bump being the polished doorknob. Link _really_ did not want to go in there. But another high-pitched scream pierced the air, and he yanked the door open before he could think about it. The inside of the temple was dark, lit only by small streams of light coming from cracks in the walls.

Link jogged swiftly down the short hallway. He entered the first real room of the dungeon. It was large and circular and the edges were shrouded in shadow. Link crept forward cautiously; he could hear sounds coming from up ahead. He pulled the Master Sword from its sheath as quietly as he could. A faint 'sching' sound echoed throughout the room. The skittering immediatly stopped and the room was perfectly silent.

Suddenly wingbeats burst through the silence, coming towards Link's head. He ducked on instinct and a swarm of Keese rushed past him. The Master Sword whipped out and sliced through two of the fragile bodies. The remaining Keese chittered at him angrily. As he cut through another he felt something latch onto his leg. Looking down, he yelped; it was a spider that was probably as large as his head! Link shook his leg frantically, attempting to dislodge the beast. But the spider held on stubbornly, glaring at him with red eeys and making angry noises.

The Keese battered at his head with the hooked claw at the end of their tails, and he held up his shield to ward them off. He slid the Master Sword under the spider and flicked it off; it left ragged tears in his pant leg. He stomped on the spider and slashed at the Keese in one movement.

Everything was quiet... then two giant spiders larger than the first leapt out of the gloom, aimed right at his face.

Link yelped and ducked and the bugs hit the wall behind him with a sick-sounding cut them in half before they could move again.

He walked forward cautiously. His boot crunched over something. Looking down he saw that it was a fourth spider. Link gagged; its guts were strewn out all over the place.

Once more he heard noises coming from the gloom in front of him. Link tensed and held his shield out, half covering his face. He crept forward and found a lone spider skittering around the floor. He delt with it quickly.

The room was finally completely silent. Link pulled out his lantern and had a look around. There were nine doors. The largest was right in front of him and was barred by thick iron poles. The other eight circled two sides of the room. Five of the eight were locked; one with a lock and chain and the others with raised porticullises.

Link opened the first door to the left of the big door. The tunnel extended straight for a ways before turning sharply to the left. And then something dropped from the ceiling above him, throwing him violently to the floor. Link raised his head wearliy to see an angry-looking Skulltulla advancing towards him and clicking its pincers.

Link rolled backwards and came into a crouch, weapons up and ready. The spider lunged at him. Link rammed his shield into its face, stunning it, and shoved his sword through its armored head. Brutal maybe, but effective. There was nothing else in the tunnel; it just tapered off to a point.

Link left and went to the next door. It was locked, but the one after wasn't. The tunnel looked just the same as the last one, but this time rather than having a Skulltulla there was just a switch. When Link stepped on it he heard the faint sound of a porticullis being raised. He quickly left the tunnel and saw that the door closest to the big door on the right was now open.

Link went through... and was immediatly bombarded by a quartet of Bokoblins. Link didn't know how they'd gotten in or why, the only thing that mattered was the fact that they were trying to kill him.

Link ducked under the short stubby sword and elbowed the creature in the gut. Its breath went out in a rush and before it could regain its lost air, Link quickly ended its hopes. He caught a blow on his shield and stuck his sword in a second Bokoblin's stomach. Link spun around, catchingthe two remaining Bokoblins with enough force to throw him to the ground. He got one with an Ending Blow before it could get back up, but the other tackled him before he could pull the Master Sword back out. He lost his grip on the blade as they tumbled. The Bokoblin landed on top of Link and clawed at his neck. He held it at bay with gritted teeth as he tried to throw it off.

Suddenly Link twisted his upper body to one side, throwing the Bokoblin off balance and knocking it off. He pulled an arrow from his bag and drove it into the creature's eye. It twitched once then lay still. Link pulled the arrow out and stood up, wiping the arrow off on a cloth before putting it back in the quiver. After a thorough search of the tunnel he found nothing else.

_What's with this temple?_ he wondered. _It's not like any of the other ones I've been in._

The next door dwon from him was also open. When he entered, he spotted webbing coving parts of the walls and ceiling. He froze and looked up. A Skulltulla chose that moment of drop down and squash him. Link dove out of the way and spun around, drawing and launching the Gale Boomerang as he did so. the cyclone swirled around the spider's head, utterly confusing it, then Link jumped in and drove the sword through its head. He flipped off and caught the boomerang with one hand. "Stupid spider," he muttered as he slid aruond it and left the room.

He went through the final door that wasn't locked on the left side and found a blue treasure chest. It held the dungeon map. Link stared at it. The temple was designed to look like a giant spider. It had four floors, the first having an extra appendege that looked like where he had entered, the fourth just being a head, and the two middle being identical. "Why spiders?" Link wondered aloud. "Why couldn't it have been butterflies?"

He left the map tunnel and went into the final room that was unlocked. At first glance it was empty but when Link turned around to leave, he found his way blocked. It was another Skulltulla, this one black rather than white. Link sighed as he pulled the Gale Boomerang back out. He was thinking he would just use the same tactic as before. But the spider knocked the weaopn out of the air. It clattered to the ground, power gone. Link gupled as it advanced towards him; there was a cunning, animal intelligence in its eyes. He backed away slowly, the hand holding the Master Sword slick with sweat.

He lunged at the black Skulltullat suddenly; his sword clipped the beast's leg. But that only made it angrier. It shot a glob of sticky venom at his face. Link thrust his shield and deflected it back at the spider. Surprisingly, the ball stayed togetherand struck the spider full in the face. It roared and began to thrash aroiund, shaking its head from side to side in a vain attempt to dislodge the poison. Link came in and went to work. One sword swipe took out the two front legs and a second severed one of its pincers. Each time the spider roared angrily and began to thrash even more violently.

Then it ran into the wall. It collapsed and was unable to get back up again. The Master Sword cut off its head.

Link sighed and pulled the blade out. He wiped it off and returned it to its sheath. All those spiders were beginning to become tiresome.

Link left the tunnel and glanced up at the ceiling in hopes of finding some sunlight. He didn't find any of that, but he did spot the corner of a treasure chest. He guessed that it was suspended by a spider web so he sent his boomerang up to get it down. It fell with a thud. It contained a key and Link used it to open the sixth door. For simplicity reasons he selected a bomb and tossed it inside. There was a painful screech when it exploded. Link didn't bother to go in.

That left two barred doors. Link begoan to wander around the room, hoping to stumble upon something important. To his surprise, he did. He tripped over it in fact. It was a floor switch. Link grinned and stepped on it. The two porticullises lifted. But as soon as he stepped off they slammed back down. Link's smile turned to a glower. His eyes fell on the empty treasure chest; it looked heavy enough. He went and picked it up, bringing it back and placing it on the switch. The switch went down and stayed down.

Link chucked a couple of bombs into the tunnels because he didn't feel like dealing with whatever was in there.

**Writer's Block: Correction. Because the author is to lazy to make him.**

**The Author: And who's fault do you think that was!**

**Writer's Block: Yours.**

**The Author: No! Yours! ...this is really weird. Back to the story!**

Link felt a prickling on the back of his neck. He spun around, sheild at the ready... THUNK! Something large and heavy struck his shield, driving him back a coupld of steps. He peeked of the shield's rim. There was a giant, red and black spider glaring at him. It looked a smaller, more colorful version of the Argog. Its body was heavily armored and giant pincers the size of Link's forearm protruded from its head.

Link twirled his sword in his hand, his face set in a glower of determination. He was done dealing with spiders; it was getting old. With a roar, he swiped his blade through its head. The Master Sword shone through the shower of blood that followed. The stupid, stupid spider collapsed.

KA-CHINK.

Link jumped and looked around; the big door was now unlocked. Link heaved it open and went through; a giant staircase was the only furnishing. Link went up it. Onto the second floor.

**Me: Sorry for the short and sucky chapter people; Writer's Block had me bad. I've decided to end this chapter here and take about a week break from fanficing to work on Purple Tractors; it's calling to me, begging to be worked on... I'll start writing fanfic again on July 3rd; the day I leave on vacation. Also, sorry for that weird interupption there, I'm not sure what happened.**

**Against my better judgement I have decided to put up another fic when I get back from Florida. It'll be an Ocarina of Time fic; it's got a great plot and it'll be lighter in content than this one. This'll bring my total of working fics up to three. Yipee.**

**Please leave me a review telling me what of thought! Did ya like it, not like it, got any suggestions? Anything will make me happy. Laters!**


	13. Chapter Ten, Part Trois

Chapter Ten, Part Trois

Link thought he knew what the temple was all about. The only way to get to the next floor was to beat all the enemies on the floor and then fight a sort-of mini-boss. So that's what he did. He mad eit through the second floor alright, beating Skulltullas, Bokoblins, a couple of Deku Babas, and other exccedingly annoying creatures. When he left the last room, a giant scratch across his cheek, there was a Darknut waiting for him. "Oh goody," Link muttered to himself, "it's not a spider."

He pulled out his weapons and slowly approached the huge warrior. The huge black sword crashed into the ground inches from Link's feet. Link leapt to one side, rolled, came up and twirled, the sword cutting off a strap on the Darknut's armor. Link circled as the warrior tried to find him. He cut through the other straps holding the back armor on. It fell to the ground with a clang. The breastplate fell off with it. THe Darknut spun around with its sword out and Link dropped to the ground. As it did, the rest of its armor fell off with a clank.

Link backed away quickly, knowing what was coming next. The Darknut flung its giant-ass sword at Link's midsection.

Link dropped and rolled, coming up as the Darknut drew its thin rapier from its belt. The Darknut rushed at Link; sword held above its head. Link caught the jarring blow on his shield and drove the Master Sword through its chain mail before the Darknut could recover. It became limp and crashed to the ground when Link removed his sword. The door to the next floor slid open and Link went up.

The first thing Link noticed was the vast amount of spider webs. They covered almost every doorway and Link could tell just by looking that his lantern wouldn't be enough. He did the only thing he could; went through the only open doorway. Inside was a fancy blue chest with a creepy-looking eye on it. When Link approached the eye snapped shut and vines encircled the entire chest. Link tried to cut through the vines but they regrew faster than he could cut them.

Finally, seeing no other way, Link retreated until the eye opened again. Then he pulled out the Ball and Chain and chucked it at the thing. It killed the eye but destroyed the chest as well. "Opps," Link said to the air.

He sifted throught the rubble and pulled out a strange looking rod. It was about the size of his Dominion Rod and an odd silver-white color. At the thinner end was a small orange jewel with a band of yellow metal right above it. Then the rod widened and a larger orange jewel sat on the top, ringed by more of the yellow metal.

Link pressed the switch by his finger. A powerful jet of fire errupted from the big jewel, incinerating everything in the tunnel. Link quickly hit the switch again. "Sweeet," he said happily.

He left the room and blasted all the spiderwebs to ashes, went into tunnels, killed more enemies, left, killed more, and finally came back out to battle the final mini-boss which was another black Skulltulla that he blasted with his Fire Rod until it turned to a crisp, collapsed, and turned to ash.

Link went up the last flight of stairs and came out into a dark circular chamber. The walls were covered with spiderwebs and LInk set them all on fire to illuminate the room. They smouldered slowly but brightly, illuminating the one thing that Link didn't want to see.

A humongous black spider.

"You again?" Link said loudly.

The spider's single eye snapped open. "ME AGAIN? I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU BEFORE IN MY LIFE."

"I-what? Aren't you the Argog?"

"NO. I AM THE ARISTOL. THE ARGOG IS MY KID BROTHER. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE ARGOG?"

"He, um, kind of tried to kill me," Link said.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?"

"He, um, had an allergic reaction," even to his ears, and he had bene there, it sounded ridiculous.

"YOU TIRED TO KILL MY BROTHER!" the Aristol yelled with rage.

"What! No I didn't!"

"DIE PUNY HUMAN!" The Aristol fired a giant stream of red venom at him and he leapt backwards desperatly with the Fire Rod still in his hand. He hit the wall and his hand tightened reflexively around the metal; activating the switch. The jet of fire struck the dwindling jet of venom and it instantly went up in flame. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" the Aristol roared.

"Uh, downstairs," Link answered.

The Aristol - stupidly - fired another jet of venom at Link. The hero turned his rod on it and the whole thing went up, backlashing towards the bug and scorching its eye. The spider yelped and hissed and scuttled towards Link.

Link switched the Fire Rod to his other hand and pulled out the Master Sword. The spider's eye was closed so he dove to one side and cut off part of its leg. It fell in a shower of blood. The Aristol yelped again, a girlish sound, and hurried away. "Can't take the heat?" Link taunted. "Or are you scared too?"

"THE ARISTOL IS AFRIAD OF NOTHING!" the spider roared so loudly that it shook the ground beneath Link's feet.

"The Aristol shouldn't talk about itself in the third-person," Link mimicked.

"I AM NOT AN IT! I AM A SHE!"

"You're a spider," Link said. "And I. Hate. _SPIDERS!"_ He finished with a roar and sprinted at the Aristol; Fire Rod spewing its deadly contents in one hand and the Master Sword in the other. The spider recoiled but Link slashed through all the opposing legs and pincers in a red haze of rage. He launched himself into the air and slammed the Master Sword through the closed eyelid. The Aristol died with a shudder. Now where was the bottle?

Clapping filled the chamber. Link looked around; it was the girl from before. "Impressive," she said. "But what you seek isn't here."

"WHAT!" Link screeched in a truely impressive octave for a guy.

"Nope," the girl grinned as Link shriekd incoherently. "It's inside the waterfall."

"Take me," Link said. "Take me or so help me, I _will_ blast you with this thing." He pointed the Fire Rod in her direction.

She paled, knowing he was serious. "Okay, okay. Come on."

Link went.

**Me: Finally! Holy shit that was annoying. I _hate_ Writer's Block. It needs to go crawl in a hole and die. I think I'm just gonna stop trying to design my own temples.**

**Samik: Hey Enia, let's have a dance party.**

**Me: What?**

**Samik: A dance party. Let's have one.**

**Me: Where the hell did _that_ come from?**

**Samik: I dunno. But it sounds like fun.**

**Me: Samik... you know I don't dance.**

**Samik: Too bad. Come on.**

**Me: RUN AWAY!**

**Teemo: While they are both engaged in their shennanigans I'm here to end this chapter! Uh... how do I do this again?**

**Arin: Ask for reviews and all that jazz.**

**Teemo: Oh right. Please leave reviews for Enia! (or we will hunt you down and make you!)**


	14. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Zelda wandered along the beach where Flick had disappeared and stared out at the vast, unending sea. The horizan fell to meet it and together they disappeared from sight. The sand was wet beneath her feet as the tide had just gone out. The footprints telling the story of what had happened were no longer there as it had rained hard the night before and washed the sand smooth as if it had never even happened. The sea itself was calm; gentle wave lapped at the shore.

Zelda stared up at the sky as she walked. It was a quiet, dark turquoise; a calming color. She looked back down and something caught her eye; it was in stark contrast to the yellow-brown color of the sand around it. She picked it up and gasped. It was a hat; a green hat. It was Flick's hat and Zelda couldn't imagine anything that could've happened to get Flick to part with her hat. Except maybe death.

* * *

The shade was angry. Very angry. Someone - or thing - was messing with its plans! Its whole idea for the river, ruined! Someone would pay; someone always had to pay. Its anger went deep beneath the ground and shook the earth to its core. Setting off a chain reaction, the shade grinned to itself. Pay back time.

* * *

The dark man stretched out lazily in the deep gloom. Energy was coursing through his body; making him strong. His light half was spiraling slowly into the realm of hatred and anger. Soon they would become one and his light half wouldn't be able to fight him off. The dark man would take control and creat havoc across the land! The dark man laughed evily to himself as he settled down to wait.

**Me: Hi, it's been a long time, right? I hit a major wall. This is my first attempt at breaching it. Sorry it's so short. I wanted to take a breat from Link so I can figure out what to do with him. And a Flick section didn't fit in here. I'll try to get another chapter up in a couple of days. But in the meantime, you guys should go check out my Ocarina of Time fic 'casue it's actually really good.**

**Please leave reviews 'cause then I'll be more likely to update!**


	15. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Sol flew through the air and crashed painfully into the wall. He groaned and rolled over just in time to avoide being crushed by a giant spiked tail. The spikes chewed throught he rock and left a gaping hole right where his head had been. Sol flipped to his feet and drew his massive broad sword. It's tree foot long blade gleamed in the low lighting and seemed to him to be thirsting for the blood. He slashed at the Dragon's foreleg and the blade cut through the dark scales like butter. The Dragon roared with pain. Sol ducked under the bright jet of fire and jammed his sword deep into the Dragon's throat. Black blood splurted from the wound, drenching his hand. He wiggled the sword from side to side to drive it in deeper before yanking it out in another shower of blood. The dying animal roared again and thrashed around before finally lying down to rest. Sol wiped his blade and sheathed it. "And that's how it's done," the Twili whispered as he gazed upon what the Dragon had been guarding.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," Link said as they scrambled up the slippery rocks.

"S'fine," the girl said. She was ahead of him, jumping nimbly from rock to rock.

"No, it wasn't," Link condraticted. "I never should have threatened you that way. It was out of line and that's not who I am. I've just been under a lot of stress lately, you know?"

"Tell me about it," the girl sighed in agreement.

"Can you forgive me?"

"Yeah. I can."

It felt as if at least some of the weight had been lifted off his chest. Now there was one less thing for him to feel guilty about. "It's just that my best friend is in a lot of danger right now and I don't know what kind. If I don't get these potions, I can't go help her. So when I found out that the potion wasn't there, I guess I finally snapped. I'm sorry that you had to be there to bear the brunt of it."

"No, you don't need to apologize. I totally get what you're saying. People are expecting things of you and you're expection things of yourself, and when you can't meet those expectations you just kinda... break."

Link nodded and paused on a larger boulder. "What's your name?"

She hesitated slightly. "Allai."

As he nodded the ground beneath his feet began to shake. He grabbed onto a rock for support and stared up the cliff. Pebbles and larger boulders were bearing down on them at a tremendous speed. "Uh oh," Link groaned.

Allai pulled him to one sdie and they ducked under a rock shelf. The rocks rattled over head and Link watched them bounce past with apprehension. He was worried that they were going to get closed in. The avalanche lasted no more than five minutes, but when it was done Link's fears were confirmed; they were blocked in with only a small sliver of light showing through the top. "What do we do know?" Allai asked.

"I don't know," Link said. He stood up into a crouch and moved towards the blocked off entrance. He pushed against the rocks, but none of them moved. He stuck his hand through the hole, he thought it was about the size of his head, and waved it around. Maybe someone was near by and would help them. But the minutes passed and no one came.

"Do you have any tool that could help?" Allai asked.

"Not in this small of a space..." Link trailed off; he had just thought of something. "But maybe... I'm going to try something that's probably stupid and definatly dangerous. Are you okay with that?"

He saw the girl nod in the dim lighting.

Link reached into his supplies bag and pulled out the Bomb Bag. He carefully extracted one and held it against the hole, blotting out the light. It looked like it would fit. He slid the bomb through until he could barely hold onto it, then lit the wick. He quickly dropped the explosive and pulled Allai back to the far reaches of the little cave. They could hear the bomb hissing and suddenly there was a loud boom. Link squeezed his eyes shut and covered the girl as they were showered with small bits of rock and hot air. Finally the deluge stopped and Link cautiously opened his eyes. It had worked; they were free.

Link slid out of the cave, pulling Allai with her and they stood up. "Well, that was... interesting," she said shakily. "And you were right, that was stupid."

"At least it worked."

They hurriedly climbed the rest of the way up the cliff. It abruptly gave way to a soft grassy plain with a small chest lying in the center. "Is that it?" Link asked, wanting yet not daring to believe that it was.

"Yes." Her voice was quiet, almost sorry. Something was off, but Link didn't notice. He strode towards the wooded chest and pried the lid open, bits of rust flaking away. It was empty.

"Looking for this, boy?" a new voice asked. For a moment, Link thought he recongized it. It had the same evil timbre too it. But then he realized it wasn't low enough, this was someone new. He slowly turned around. Standing behind him was a tall thin man. His white hair was cut so it fell across half his face at a sharp angle, leaving only one red eye visible. He wore large blue earings in his pointy ears and a tight-fitting white diamond-hatched suit over his gray skin. Over that was a strange red cloak with a tall collar and triangle flaps. In his hand he held a small bottle.

"Yes," Link said simply. He didn't know who this knew man was, but he didn't that he was on Link's side.

The man snapped his fingers and a long, curved, black blade appeared in his hand. "I'm afraid I can't give it to you. Sorry." And then he laughed, a forked tongue flickering out of his mouth. Link suddenly keenly felt Flick's absence again; if she were here she'd be leaning over and whispering, "Child molester," in his ear. Link noticed that the girl, Allai, stood just behind the creepy man, eyes staring down at the ground.

"Allai?" he called uncertainly.

"I'm sorry, Link, I really am," she said quietly. "I like you, I do, but... blood calls the loudest."

Anger flashed in Link's eyes. "You set me up."

She said nothing. She didn't need to; the man answered for her. "Yes, she did. Although the monster Aragog was supposed to kill you. I suppose we underestimated you... or its allergies. But no matter. The end result will still be the same."

"Who are you?" Link demanded. "And what do you want?"

The man sighed and twirled his sword in his hand lazily. "I suppose it's only fair that you know the name of the one who's about to kill you." He tossed his cape back dramatically. "You may call me Ghirahim. In truth, I much prefer to be indulged by my full title: _Lord _Ghirahim. I am the all powerful Demon Lord, ruler of the land below the clouds. A different land, not yours, but this one is very much like the land I rule. Which is why I want to take it over. But that is of little consequence to you. You won't be alive to see me do it!" He tossed the bottle to Allai and, in a flash of golden diamonds, his cloak disappeared. He gripped his swored tightly and bent over. Link tensed, wondering what this crazy man was about to do, when Ghirahim suddnely came charging at him, sword leaving a trail of shadow behind. Link dove out of the way with only inches to spare and rolled to a stop, his feet skidding slightly on the grass.

Link pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and readied his shield upon his arm. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but I can tell you that you'll find it no easy task to defeat me."

Ghirahim laughed, the forked tongue flickering again. "Boy, you don't even know what I can do."

"Nor you I," Link answered.

Ghirahim snapped his fingers and little black and red daggers appeared in the air in front of them. With a flick of his wrist, the Demon Lord sent them flying towards Link. The Hero of Time leapt out of the way and charged at the pale man, sword held down low. Ghirahim ran to intercept him and their blades collided in a shower of sparks. Up close the man smelled faintly of smoke and reptile.

Ghirahim shoved Link back and bent over for another powerful charge. Once again, Link only barely managed to move out of the way. Ghirahim was fast. Link pulled his Gale Boomerang out and flung it at the demon's head. Ghirahim laughed and disappeared in another burst of golden diamonds. Link looked around, startled. Something tapped him on the shoulder.

Link whirled around, blade outstretched, but Ghirahim leapt back, still laughing. "Maybe you overestimated yourself, boy," he said, spitting out the last word. Link said nothing. Maybe he _had_ underestimated this strange pale man.

The Demon Lord sent another batch of flying daggers at Link. Link ducked under them and thought furiously about how he was going to be him. Suddenly, Ghirahim charged again, but this time, instead of dodging, Link ran to meet him. They collided in a dazzling shower of sparks and the force of the impact sent them both flying backwards. Link skdded across the ground, the grass muteing his impact slightly, and came to a stop only inches from the edge of the cliff. He looked up to see Ghirahim stalking towards him, sword casually hanging at his side.

Link rose groggily to his feet. The Demon Lord looked no worse for wear, but that tumble had left Link slightly stunned; he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out against his easily more powerful foe. Link remained where he was, standing a foot from the ledge. Ghirahim smiled; cockiness replacing confidence. He would pound this boy flat in only one more blow. He bent over again and charged. Link forced the tight smile from his lips; he didn't want Ghirahim knowing what he was planning.

Link waited until the last possible second. If he timed this wrong Ghirahim might have time to stop or the Demon Lord might take Link with him.

Ghirahim laughed as he ran. He knew he was about to win. There was no way the boy would be able to move out of the way. He was hemmed in. Ghirahim would deal with this nuisance and then nothing would stand in his way. Hyrule would be his for the taking. But a strange thought played at the back of his mind. Could it be a doubt? The boy was standing so still, making no move to step away from the cliff. It was almost as if... but then it was too late.

Link dove to one side and Ghirahim barreled past him, unable to stop, and over the cliff. Link could hear the demon cursing his name as he fell, sword spinning out of his grasp. Link let out a long breath; he had done it. For a second there at then, he had thought that he wouldn't be able to move fast enough. He turned around to look for the girl who had set him up; she was nowhere to be found. In her place though, sitting on top of the chest, was the small brown bottle. Link smiled as he walked over and picked it up; maybe she wasn't all bad after all.

**Me: Ha! Take that Writer's Block! I beat you good!**

**Samik: All thanks to Skyward Sword.**

**Me: Yes, I love that game. It's tied with Twilight Princess right now for my favorite Zelda game. We shall se if it surpasses TP once I beat it. But you can expect a lot of aspects of it in this fic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully now Writer's Block will stay away and I'll be able to update more often. Pwease review? Pwetty Pwease?**


	16. Chapter Thirteen

**Me: Ack! I almost forgot! Skyward Sword Spoiler Alert!**

Chapter Thirteen

Lord Ghirahim was not a happy camper. Why did everything always stand in his way? Why was he always the one who took the fall? (Literal and metaphorical.) So many years ago, something like this had happened before. He'd been defeated by a mere scrap of a boy. A boy with a very special sword. Ghirahim had convinced himself that the only reason the boy had one was because of this sword. But then the boy had defeated his master even when Ghirahim himself had been inside his master's blade! It had been something about the boy himself. A sense of courage, maybe, of duty.

It had take Ghirahim centuries to free himself from his weapon form. His master was gone, killed in both the past and the future, but that was okay; Ghirahim decided that he served no one but himself. He had his own agenda. He wanted those potions. Those would give him power unlike any other! And he'd been so close too...

But then that dratted boy had shown up!

True, Ghirahim had lured him there. Actually, he'd been hoping the spider would have dealt with him, but this wasn't the first time the Demon Lord had underestimated a boy like that. So he'd told his daughter to bring the boy up the mountain. The accursed boy had been different than Ghirahim remembered, older with darker hair, but his manner had been the same. Confident, righteous, powerful. And he'd carried the Blade of Evil's Bane, and in his left hand, too! Ghirahim hadn't been able to sense Fi's or his master's prescense in the sword. He didn't know what that meant.

The boy had fought differently than before, but he had also been tired and strung-out mentally. Lord Ghirahim prided himself on being smart. He knew how to exploit his opponent's weaknesses. He knew how to win. But that boy had pulled a totally unexpected trick. It was bold, it was daring, it was reckless, and Ghirahim hadn't seen it coming. So he'd fallen off a cliff. His magic had saved him, yes, but it had still hurt, still been embarrassing. And now he was mad. He was pissed. He was furious. He was having a full-blown, over-the-top, temper tantrum! Someone would pay for his humiliation! Someone would pay dearly...

* * *

Flick lay in the dark room and groaned. Her body was a well of pain. Her shoulder burned and her leg was aching and there was a new headache throbbing behind her eyes. Her head felt strange without her hat on it. Vulnerable. And if that wasn't enough, there was a unicorn standing in the corner of her room, staring at her.

"Hey," the unicorn said.

"Hey," Flick replied.

"How's it hanging?"

"Eh, it's hanging. You?"

"From a pole."

"Oh, cool."

"Hey, did you hear what happened to Earl the Lawn Gnome?"

"No, what?"

"Well, Lawn Gnomes are supposed to be eaters of feet, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, apparently he got _his_ feet eaten."

Flick's eyes widened. "No way."

"Way."

She shook her head sadly. "Poor guy."

"Tell me about it. Have you heard from Larry lately?"

"Your buddy? No, why?"

"Garry wants him."

"Oh."

"Those Neon Unicorns, they never can seem to get along."

"Tell me about it. I heard Mary once stared at a mirror for three days straight as Harry tried to stupifey her."

"Barbarians."

"Tell me about it."

The unicorn yawned. "Hey, does anything happen around here?"

"Not really."

"That blows. Hey, want some dust?"

"You know I don't do drugs."

"Yeah. You don't know what you're missing." The unicorn pulled a pipe out of the air and stuck it in its mouth. It took a long draft and sighted dreamily. "That's the stuff."

"Drugs will rot your brains."

"I didn't have any to begin with, so I don't think it can do me any harm."

"True," Flick agreed.

"...Did you just insult me?"

"Sorry."

"Eh, doesn't matter. Everyone does anyways. Sure you don't want any?"

"I'm sure."

"More for me I guess." The unicorn took another pull on the pipe.

Flick yawned and closed her eyes. "Nice seeing you."

"Yeah, see ya. I'll be back later." When Flick opened her eyes again, the unicorn was gone.

_Great_, she thought. _Now I'm hallucinating._

**Me: ... I'm bored. Don't blame me. I get random when I'm bored. I wanted to write something pointless. I'll get back to the plot in the next chapter. Naaaaaarm. Okay, I should go do something productive now... I don't wanna. Okay. Bye. Read and Review?**


	17. Chapter Fourteen

**Me: First off, let it be known that I have no idea what that last chapter was. I was really bored and just kind of barfing words out onto the page. Secondly, sorry I update so slowly. I have a lot of fanfictions going and I've been lacking inspiration on most of them. The only one that I know what I want to write, my friend is supposedly writing the next chapter and she's taking and incredibly long time. (Actually I just decided to skip over her chapter. :D) Anyways, let's hope I can make myself write something!**

Chapter Fourteen

After the fight with Lord Ghirahim, Link hastened back to Hyrule Castle. He wanted to give Zelda the potion and tell her about their new problem. Epona's long legs ate up the miles and soon the castle was sweeping up across the horizon. He thundered across the drawbridge and dismounted on the other side. Zelda was waiting for him. "The guards saw you coming," she explained as he approached. "Did you get it?"

Link nodded. "Yes. Will you hold onto it for me?"

"Of course." Zelda held out her hand.

Link reached into his pouch and pulled out the small bottle. He placed it in her palm and it disappeared into the folds of Zelda's robes. The princess studied his face carefully for a moment. "Is something wrong?" she asked with concern.

Link rubbed his eyes and sighed sadly. "I'm falling to pieces, Zelda."

She laid her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk?"

Link nodded and sat down, burning his face in his arms. Zelda crouched down beside him. They were right smack-dab in the middle of the drawbridge, totally in the way, but neither cared. He told her the whole story from when he'd left her to fighting Lord Ghirahim. He started with the frozen waterfall, meeting the girl, and fighting the Argog. She didn't laugh at him being terrified of spiders. Instead she told him about the strange dream she'd had. That was the only time he looked up at her. She could see tears welling in his eyes.

He told her about the temple and the rage he'd felt when fighting the Argog's sister. When he talked about finding out that the potion wasn't there and that he'd threatened to kill that girl, his voice cracked and his shoulders began to shake. Zelda wrapped her arms around him and murmured in his ear that it would be okay.

When he was done crying, Zelda leaned back and looked into his face. Link smiled slightly and wiped his eyes dry on his sleeve. _He looks so young_, Zelda thought suddenly. _And vulnerable._ "Sorry," he whispered.

"It's fine," she said, smiling comfortingly at him. "What happened next?"

He explained how the girl had led him up the falls and how he'd tried to make his hideous actions a little better by apologizing. Then he told her about his fight with the Demon Lord Ghirahim. "Look out for him," Link finished. "He's bad news and I don't think we've seen the last of him."

Zelda nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the end of his story. "We will. But right now, Ghirahim is not your concern. You need to get some sleep."

Link's eyes widened and he stood up abruptly, staring down at her in shock. "Sleep? I can't sleep now! I've still got two more potions to find and Flick could be anywhere by now!"

"You can't help her if you run yourself into the ground," Zelda said, standing up as well. She realized randomly that she was taller than him by several inches.

Link shook his head fiercely. "No. I can't. I have to find her."

Zelda sighed. She had known that he would object, but she felt she had to try. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled something out. She held it out to Link. "Here, take this."

He took it and turned it over in his hands. It was a leather cord necklace with a strange blue stoned tied to one end. "What is it?" he asked.

"It was my ancestor's. It's a bit of an ancient Sheikah Stone. I have one too." She pulled a matching necklace out from underneath her dress. "It will allow us to talk to each other across great distances. Use it if you ever need to talk."

"I will." Link offered Zelda a small smile and slipped the cord over his head. "Thank you."

"But you're not going to come in and sleep?"

He shook his head. "No."

Zelda shrugged. "I figured it was worth a try. Good luck."

He nodded his thanks. It was then that the rumbling started. Zelda and Link looked around for the source. Far off in the distance, reds and yellows painted the sky, accented by deep, black belches of smoke. Death Mountain was erupting.

**Me: Whee! Done! My gosh,m that bus ride wreaked havoc on my already tiny handwriting. Short chapter, I know. But I couldn't resist the cliffhanger. And actually, this chapter has been in my notebook for a while; it took me a long time to get around to typing it 'cause I've been super distracted rewriting an original work. But better late than never, right? 'Till next time! Read and Review! Ciao!**

**Samik: …I EAT YOU!**

**Me: O.O What? Aaa!**


	18. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Link ran back across the drawbridge with Princess Zelda right behind him. He whistled shrilly for Epona and she came galloping towards him, skidding to a halt in front of the stairs. He grabbed her reins and prepared to swing himself into the saddle, but the princess caught his sleeve. "What are you going to do? The volcano is _erupting_."

Link gently pulled her hand away. "I have to do something. Look, it's going to destroy Kakariko Village." He pointed towards the sky where the volcano was painting the clouds with violent streaks of lava, rock, and ash.

"You can't stop a volcano."

"Maybe not." His hand dropped to the Fire Rod in his belt. "But I can sure try." He swung into the saddle and shook the reins. Epona, sensing the urgency in the air, took off as fast as she could. Princess Zelda watched them go, praying for their safety.

* * *

Renado stared up at the erupting volcano. Lava spewed everywhere, painting the sky red, orange, and yellow, and dark gray ash plumes mingled with the white clouds, giving the day an overcast look. The citizens of Kakariko Village streamed past the shaman's high ledge in a panic, clutching bundles of possessions to their bodies as they tried to fight their way to safety. Renado needed to calm them down before something terrible happened that put all the villagers in danger.

"Please! Stop!" he called, standing high above the seething crowd with his arms raised. "You must calm down!"

But nobody stopped trying to shove their way down the narrow path out of Kakariko Village. Renado saw an older man shove a child out of the way in his haste. The child tumbled and fell under the wheels of a horse-drawn carriage. Renado didn't see what happened to the boy after that.

"Please! Listen to me!" Renado tried again. But they couldn't hear him over the panicked yells and the rumbling of the volcano.

"Renado!" called a deep gruff voice from up the mountain.

The shaman turned to see the Goron chief, Darbus, shoving his way through the human population of Kakariko Village. The massive, powerfully built Goron swatted the villagers out of the way like they were flies as he barreled his way towards Renado. Darbus stopped just before the platform on which the shaman stood. "We have a problem."

"Other than the exploding volcano?" Renado asked, climbing down slowly from the ledge to join his friend on the ground.

"Yes, other than that," the Goron said, not detecting the sarcasm in Renado's voice. "Gor Ebizo has been taken by a madman."

Renado paled. That was definitely another problem. "Lead the way. And tell me everything."

"A strange, pale man appeared in our chambers just before Death Mountain began to shake," Darbus explained as he led the way up the mountain, clearing the villagers out of the way so the smaller human could walk unhindered. "He looked at us each in turn with a reptilian smile on his face. Suddenly, he disappeared in a flash of light, appeared behind Gor Ebizo, laughed, then disappeared again with the elder."

Renado frowned. "Any idea who the man was?"

Darbus shook his massive head. "No. I wanted to go after Gor Ebizo immediately, but the others entreated me to get you first."

"A wise choice. They could be anywhere. And with the mountain exploding like it is…"

"We Gorons could withstand it," Darbus harrumphed indignantly.

Renado eyed the rock man with a raised eyebrow. "Not even a Goron could survive being hit by a flaming rock and getting knocked into a deep pool of lava."

Darbus looked disgruntled. "We would have a better chance of surviving than some puny human."

Renado shrugged, consenting to the point. "Maybe. But let us see what can to be done once we get up there."

* * *

Hyrule Field was on fire. The thick lava was making its slow course down the rugged rocks and across the grassy plain. It looked strong enough to consume anything the world put in its path. Link stood about five hundred yards from the blazing inferno. Even from there, he could feel the heat. He knew he had to do something before the flames destroyed everything. But what? The fire was too strong for his boomerang, and the heat would probably burn the wood up anyways. Half of his items would over heat and burn him severely or were made of wood like the boomerang, and his last two items would probably do more harm than good.

So what could he do?

His hand strayed once again to the Fire Rod hooked through his belt. He took it out and stared at it, its bright orange depths calming him despite his current situation. Suddenly, a tiny pinprick of light appeared in the center of the orange ball. It grew larger and Link realized that the Fire Rod was rapidly turning blue.

The weapon emanated an entirely different kind of power once the transformation was complete. Whereas the Fire Rod spoke of raw energy and destruction, the blue stone exuded a feeling of calm, clear-mindedness and life. _It's not just a Fire Rod! _Link thought incredulously_. It's an Elemental Rod!_

Controlled by feelings, the Elemental Rods were thought to have disappeared a long time ago when an ancient war on their creators was waged. The Elemental Rods were so powerful that they were almost impossible to us but by a select few who could control their emotions perfectly. Link was amazed disaster hadn't struck when he'd last used the Rod.

Could he use it to tame the fires raging across Hyrule Field? Or would he just end up causing more harm? It was his only option and besides, the fire was growing uncomfortably close. Soon it wouldn't matter what he decided.

Moving quickly, Link unbelted the pouch with all his items in it and hung both it and his shield across Epona's back. He kept only his sword; everything else could end up hurting rather than helping him. Link pointed Epona away from the inferno and clapped her flank. "Yah!"

His horse turned a baleful eye on him.

Link slapped her flank again. "Go, girl! I'll be fine." He pulled the charm Ilia had made him out from under his tunic. "I'll call if I need you."

Epona snorted. _Fine, but if you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you._

Link grinned and turned away. He heard her hoof beats disappear across the plain. It was time to fight an inferno.

* * *

Darbus took the shaman as close to Death Mountain as they could get. It wasn't very close. They couldn't even step foot on the mountain. Renado saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Automatically, he turned to face it, but arms like steel wrapped around his chest and held him tight. "Very good, my puppet," an oily voice to the shaman's left sneered. "You're oh so good at following orders."

"Who are you? What's going on?" Renado demanded, craning his neck to try and see who was talking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not being particularly polite, am I?" the voice said. A tall, impossibly pale man in a dark cloak and a bad haircut appeared before the trapped shaman. "My name is Lord Ghirahim. You may call me Lord Ghirahim. We're going to be good friends, you and I."

**Enia: Yay! I did it! And it's actually a pretty good chapter! I think I've finally got my groove back. Opps, knock on wood. Anyways just so you know, I leave on vacation in about two weeks. No computer. But I'll have a notebook. Maybe I'll get another chapter done before we leave, but maybe not. Just thought I'd let you know. Bye! Would _somebody_ please leave a review?**


	19. Chapter Sixteen

**Enia: So, I got a request to check in on Flick, so I thought I'd oblige. Thanks for the review. ****J Don't worry, I'm sure that this chapter won't be as utterly pointless and weird as the last chapter with Flick. What? I was _bored_. Weird things happen when I get bored. Like that day when I dug out an old idea for a fanfic. It was a Voldemort/Trevor fic. Enough said. But you don't want to hear me blather. On with the story!**

Chapter Sixteen

Flick was getting really tired of her grungy cell. She was tired of the food. Tired of the aches from her wounds. Tired of Talon and his bitchiness. Tired of not knowing what was going to happen to her. Tired of this odd country. Tired of worrying. Tired of waiting for Link. What was taking him so long? Was he hurt? Lost? Were even worst things going on in Hyrule? Had he forgotten her?

Flick shook her head fiercely to purge those thoughts from her mind. Of course Link would come for her. He wouldn't let anything get in the way of that. She just had to hold on. They were separated by a huge ocean and he would have no way of finding her. But Flick knew he would figure something out; he always did.

The door from the upstairs creaked open, snapping Flick out of her reverie. A pair of dark boots appeared on the first step and paused as their owner closed the door. Then they resumed their march. Flick tensed and slid back as far as the pole she was tied to would let her. She really hoped her visitor wasn't Talon; she didn't think she could deal with him right then.

Luckily, it wasn't. It was Illion.

The familiar, kind face appeared as the body descended the stairs, looking much the same as it had on the boat, if a little more tired. The doctor was carrying a tray with a bowl of sloshing water and a cloth on it along with a small loaf of brown bread. His satchel clinked as he walked.

Illion smiled at her as he stepped off the last stair onto the stone floor. "Hello." His voice was soft and faintly musical.

"Hi," Flick replied, shifting uncomfortably. "Is Talon coming?"

Illion shook his head and set the tray down before her. The water was steaming faintly. "No, he's not. It's just you and me."

Flick didn't know if that was good or bad. "He sent you to get information out of me, didn't he?"

Illion looked affronted. "Of course not! I'm here to tend to your wounds." He dipped the cloth into the bowl of water and wrung it out. He shuffled closer to Flick who wished she was able to edge back.

"While subtly asking questions about my life that will get me to open up to you and tell you everything."

The doctor laughed lightly. "You're a suspicious one, aren't you? May I?" he held up the cloth, meaning to clean her shoulder wound with it. Flick shrugged and he took that as a yes. His touch was gentle on the still sensitive injury. "You liked me the last time we met."

"Things were different last time," Flick said quietly. She winced as the cloth propped the center of the bullet hole and Illion instantly backed off.

"Well, I hope you can learn to trust me again." He dipped the dirty cloth in the water, rinsing away the blood. The liquid turned a light rose color. He held the loaf of bread out to her and she took it with her good hand, biting into it cautiously. Illion laughed a little when he saw her suspicion. "What, do you think it's poisoned or something?"

Flick shrugged.

Illion pulled a roll of clean white bandages out of his satchel and began to wrap them carefully around her shoulder. Flick sat stiffly as he leaned close and held her breath, uncomfortable with the contact. She wanted Link to be there more than ever. He made her feel safe. She always knew where he stood.

As if sensing her unease, Illion finished dressing the wound as quickly as he could. He leaned back as soon as he was done. "Do you need anything else?"

Flick shook her head. What she needed was nothing that he could give her. Silently, the doctor backed up his things. He left without another word. Flick watched him go. When the door clicked shut behind him, she realized something.

She was lonely.

* * *

Sol hastened back to the Twilight Castle with the metal, leaving the dragon carcass in the cave. He and his mount made the journey with ease and soon he was setting down in the starlit courtyard. He found the Twilight Princess waiting for him as he slid down from the back of his Kargorok. No sooner had his feet touched the cobblestones that she was hurrying towards him with a princess's dignity. "Did you get it?"

"Yes, Princess," Sol answered, producing the chuck of shimmering metal from under his cloak. Midna held out her hand for it and he gave it over willingly.

"This is perfect," Midna said, examining it intently. "Thank you, Soldad."

"It was my pleasure, Princess," Sol answered with a bow.

She handed it back to him. "Bring it inside for me, please. Place it on the dais."

"Yes, Princess."

Sol followed Midna up the winding stone steps and under the sweeping arch into the great hall of the castle. In the center sat a dark stone platform covered in glistening symbols, and it was on this that Sol placed the metal. It hovered in the air, inches above the face of the dais.

Midna thanked him again. "Would you leave me now, Soldad? I have got some work to do. I shall call you if I need you."

Sol bowed. "Of course, Princess."

Once he had left the room, Midna crossed the floor to a towering bookshelf. From it, she took a small tome covered in crumbling leather. She carried it back to the dais and placed it on the holding stand. She stared down at the face of the pedestal. It was an exact match to the Mirror of Twilight. Opening the book to a page in the middle, the Twilight Princess began to chant.

* * *

The dark spirit in the Forest Tempt was starting to get really annoyed. Some little prick kept interfering with his plans. Admittedly, the result was the same: chaos and destruction. But the phantom wanted to do it _his_ way. He didn't like this new uppity villain. It was _his_ job to throw Hyrule into darkness and he would _not_ have that honor torn from him. Something needed to be done, but what?

First thing first, though. He had one other thing to attend to before this new villain screwed it up as well.

The phantom drew on his vast pools of magic and sent tendrils of it out into the surrounding forest to find minds to corrupt. What it found were stinky, noisy, and flea-ridden, but stupid and trust-worthy. The perfect specimen. The phantom quickly took control of the animals' collective mind.

The monkeys opened their bright red eyes.

* * *

The dark man on the beach was tired of waiting. He wanted to fight something. Torture it, kill it, destroy it, _decimate_ it. And not necessarily in that order. The dark man groaned and banged his head on the tree trunk he was leaning against. He was so _bored_.

The sound of singing reached his sensitive ears. The dark man grinned, revealing pointy teeth. He stood fluidly and blended with the shadows that the tree threw, waiting for his prey to arrive.

It was long in coming. A pretty, red-haired girl appeared from the trees and skipped across the rocky shore, a pair of buckets swinging in her hands. Her dress was yellow and white with small flowers on it. She kept singing to herself as she knelt down before the sea shore and set her bucket in front of her. The dark man moved out of the shadows and crept towards her, making no sound.

The girl was oblivious to the danger that lurked behind her. She kept humming her cheery tune as she gathered large flat stones and placed them in the empty buckets.

The dark man purposefully stepped on a stick when he was only a foot behind the girl. The sharp sound caused her head to snap up as she spun around, song ceasing. Her blue eyes widened as she caught sight of the dark man. His right hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up so they were eye to eye. "'Ello, doll," he drawled in a whisper.

His red eyes were the last thing she saw before he snapped her thin neck.

**Enia: Not a bad chapter, right? It was supposed to be a 'Characters I've Forgotten' Chapter. Sorry about that. Forgetting them, I mean, not the chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it. Kudos for anyone who can guess who it was I killed, though I suppose it's not much of a mystery. Anyways, see ya. Please leave a review and let me know if there are any other characters I need to check in on. (Besides Link and the people on Death Mountain).**

**Also, if you thought 'the Doctor!' every time I wrote 'the doctor' like I did, you are my new best friend. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, well, it's the most amazing T.V. show on the history of the planet. :)**

**Laters!**


	20. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Even fifty feet away, the heat of the flames was almost too hot to bear. Link could feel beads of sweat popping up across his brow only to be immediately baked away, and his skin felt like it was being stretched across a board to dry like leather. He adjusted his grip on the cool metal of the Elemental Rod, the only bit of ice inside a boiling cup of tea. He could feel the magic sliding through his veins, calming his trepidation at facing the fire and replacing it with a cool confidence.

He strode forward, rod swaying by his hip. His breath came slow and regular; in time with his heart. He raised the rod and pointed it at the oncoming flames. Closer, closer, the magic of the rod a barrier around him. He swept it out in front of him and the air shimmered with snowflakes and glittering shards of ice. With creeks and cracks, the dancing flames hardened to a clear blue, spiked wall. One tip was inches away from Link's nose.

Lava continued to ooze down the volcano. It didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. Link gritted his teeth and jabbed with the wand, sliding between the already frozen flames to keep moving forward. The temperature was plummeting rapidly, and he was starting to shiver, his breath pluming in the air.

More rushing flames descended upon of him and Link lost any sense of time or space. He began to move without thinking; it was almost as if the Elemental Rod was doing the steering now. He drew closer and closer to Death Mountain with each sweep, leaving behind him a field of jagged ice. One might almost mistake it for Snowhead.

He felt something rush through him, a sudden, impossible surge of power. Link gasped with the almost pain. The rod wrenched his arm up, pointing at the very summit of Death Mountain. The orb on the top began to glow vigorously, and the whole shaft shook. Sparkles shot in all directions. Then the magic erupted from it, and a giant ball of cold blue energy leapt forth, heading straight for the heart of the lava.

They connected with a bang and a flash. Loud cracking and snapping noises filled the air as the lava hardened into a giant statue. The ice flashed down the mountainside, freezing the rest of the flames and churning molten rock. The Elemental Rod died instantly and became a heavy stick of lead in Link's hand. His trembling arm couldn't hold the weight, and the wand dropped to his side. He could feel his knees knocking.

"Hot damn," he muttered, breathing heavily. "That's impressive."

His legs felt like collapsing, but he forced them to walk forward. Just wait until he told Princess Zelda 'I told you so.' And she thought he wouldn't be able to tame a volcano. But there wasn't time for that. He had more important things to do. It was time to find the next potion and take another step closer to finding Flick.

**Enia: …I pretty much pulled this out of my ass. The next chapter will hopefully be longer and another dungeon chapter. I'm done trying to make up my own dungeons. Can you guess what I'm going to use for it? (Cough there's been a pattern of new introductions recently cough). Please leave a review!**


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